John Scherer and Michelle DeJean Lead TUTS' White Christmas 12/6-18

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is excited to announce the cast selected to lead its holiday show, White Christmas, scheduled to play December 6 - 18 at Hobby Center for the Performing Arts (800 Bagby, between Walker and Rusk).

The all-time number one pop song and most-recorded tune in history inspired the classic film starring Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby and now a fun-filled musical for all ages to enjoy. White Christmas serves as the perfect framework for the presentation of Berlin's hit songs "Blue Skies," "Count Your Blessings" and the title song, "White Christmas." To fulfill the holiday experience, no production of White Christmas would be complete without snow, and TUTS' production does not disappoint: snow will fall throughout Sarofim Hall onto theater-goers below!

John Scherer and Michelle DeJean, whom TUTS audiences last saw together in Mame as Patrick and Gloria, will reunite on the TUTS stage once again as lovebirds Bob Wallace and Betty Haynes. Scherer's Broadway credits include Love Musik, By Jeeves and Sunset Boulevard. DeJean, a graduate of the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre, boasts the recent TUTS credits of Urban Cowboy and Chicago. DeJean's other theatre highlights include Broadway's Chicago and national tours of Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story and Chicago.

Matt Loehr, a familiar face on Broadway, plays charismatic song and dance man Phil Davis. Among Loehr's Broadway credits are Elf; Promises, Promises, Mary Poppins, and The Producers. Playing the role of Judy Haynes, who is the romantic interest of Phil, is Danette Holden. Holden's most recent TUTS credits include Kiss Me, Kate and Singin' In The Rain.

Kevin Cooney plays General Waverly, Bob and Phil's former commanding officer and proprietor of the Vermont inn. Joining him is Jay Tribble as Ezekiel "Yup" Foster, the Columbia Inn stage hand. Both Cooney and Tribble have also appeared on the TUTS stage in Guys and Dolls and The Sound of Music. Carol Swarbrick will return to TUTS as Martha Watson, General Waverly's right-hand woman at the inn. Audiences will remember Swarbrick's turn in other TUTS shows such as Whoopee!, Zorro - The Musical, and Grand Hotel. She lists 42nd Street, Whoopee!, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Side By Side By Sondheim among her Broadway credits. Cooney, Swarbrick and Tribble will reprise their roles from TUTS' 2008 presentation of White Christmas, which was programmed into the 2011-2012 season due to popular request.

The role of Susan Waverly, the general's precocious granddaughter, will be alternately played by Erin Cearlock and Sadie Sink. Cearlock is a student at Sampson Elementary in Cypress, TX, and Sink attends First Baptist Church School in Brenham, TX. Both are students at TUTS' Humphreys School of Musical Theatre.

Also featured in the show is Bill Bateman as Columbia Inn's neurotic stage manager Mike Nulty. Bateman's Broadway credits include revivals of Gypsy, Hello, Dolly! and Peter Pan. Former Army buddy, Ralph Sheldrake, will be played by Michael Brian Dunn, who also has appeared in The Life, Cats, Big River and Sweeney Todd on Broadway. Playing alongside him will be Michael Tapley in a multitude of roles including The Regency Room Club Announcer, TV Announcer and Snoring Man. Tapley's credits include the title role in The Who's Tommy on Broadway, on national tour and in Germany. His latest TUTS credits include 110 In The Shade, A Wonderful Life and Guys and Dolls.

Completing the cast are Caitlin Cannon, Marybelle Chaney, Joseph Cullinane, Kurt Domoney, Aleka Emerson, Brittany Halen, Mark Jackson, Ryan Kasprzak, Elise Kinnon, Alissa LaVergne, Colin Pritchard, Peyton Royal, Jim Schaffer, Allysa Shorte, Selina Verastigui, Erin Wasmund, Paige Wheat, Jesse Wildman and Kent Zimmerman.

White Christmas is based on the 1954 Paramount Pictures film of the same name. The libretto is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.

White Christmas will be directed by Bruce Lumpkin. Lumpkin's most recent work with TUTS was with 2010's Miss Saigon. He also co-directed the acclaimed West End production of Grand Hotel, and he boasts the Barrymore Award for Best Director and Best Musical for his revisionist look at Cabaret.

White Christmas also features the work of choreographer Mary Jane Houdina, who previously choreographed both TUTS productions of Follies. On Broadway, Houdina was associate choreographer for the original Annie and choreographer for Into The Light. Joining her on the creative team is musical director and conductor Jeff Rizzo. Rizzo has worked on several TUTS shows including Singin' In The Rain, Hello, Dolly!, Meet Me In St. Louis and The Sound Of Music. Also lending their talents to the creative team are longtime TUTS colleagues sound designer Kit Bond, lighting designer Richard Winkler, assistant lighting designer Paul Hudson, set designer Anna Louizos and costume designer Carrie Robbins.

Tickets (starting at only $24) are available on-line at TUTS.com, by phone at (713) 558-TUTS (8887), outside the Houston area at (888) 558-3882, or in person at the Theatre Under The Stars Box Office, located at 800 Bagby at Walker, Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., and Saturday - Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. An audio described performance is available Sunday, December 18 at 2 p.m.; open captioning is available Sunday, December 18 at 7:30 p.m. The Hobby Center is wheelchair accessible. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more and may be purchased by calling (713) 558-8888 or via email at groupsales@tuts.com.

TUTS' presentation of White Christmas is made possible by the generosity of Ballard Exploration Company, Inc., Locke Lord LLP and Spectra Energy.

Theatre Under The Stars' 2011-2012 Seeing Is Believing season is generously sponsored by St. Luke's Episcopal Health System. For all of TUTS' shows, air transportation is provided by United Airlines, the official airline of Theatre Under The Stars. Media sponsors include ABC-13 and Houston Chronicle. Season support is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Theater District Association and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Founded in 1968, Theatre Under The Stars is Houston's acclaimed non-profit musical theatre company under the direction of President and CEO John C. Breckenridge. TUTS was the first theatrical organization in Houston to perform free to the public in 1968 at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park, and is the only Houston arts organization that has performed there free to the public every year since the building opened. Since its founding by Frank M. Young, TUTS has produced more than 300 musicals including many local, national and world premieres such as Kopit and Yeston's Phantom, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Jekyll & Hyde, and Irving Berlin's White Christmas as well as critically acclaimed re-inventions of classics Cabaret and Les Miserables. Through its membership in the Independent Presenters Network, TUTS has helped bring Bombay Dreams, 9 to 5, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Spamalot, Legally Blonde, Ragtime, Curtains and The Color Purple to Broadway.

In support of TUTS' mission, our Education programs provide instruction and stage experience for more than 21,000 students annually, allowing them to flourish in a year-round schedule of classes. The Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT) offers technique-driven classes for all ability levels and ages, ranging from four-years-old to adulthood. With a common goal - to expand arts access to children of all physical and situational abilities - The River Performing and Visual Arts Center (The River) merged with Theatre Under The Stars in 2010, creating a unique, barrier free, arts education model for non-profit musical theatre performing arts organizations. TUTS Education provides extended on-site programming as well as off-site programming for children in schools, hospitals and other community-based sites. Housed in the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, TUTS also annually presents the Tommy Tune Awards, honoring the best and brightest in Houston's high school musical theatre programs.

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