Miles Marmolejo to Lead TUTS' HSMT Production of BIG, 6/11-14; Cast Announced

Theatre Under The Stars' Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT) presents FREE performances of Big, The Musical at Miller Outdoor Theatre with a cast that is sure to be a "big" hit! Get ready to see the classic 1987 motion picture fantasy burst onto the stage in an unforgettable theatrical experience June 11 - 13 at 11:00 a.m. and June 13 - 14 at 8:15 p.m.

"We are thrilled to bring such a fun and exuberant musical to the Miller Outdoor Theatre audiences! Many of us grew up on the Tom Hanks iconic movie so it will be exciting and challenging to bring this story to life on stage. The show is filled with high energy musical numbers including the dance scene on the gigantic keyboard! We look forward to seeing all of you there for this great family musical that teaches us what being BIG really means!" said director Rozie Curtis.

When frustrated pre-teen Josh Baskin, played by Houston native Miles Marmolejo, wishes he were "big" and wakes up the next morning a 30-year-old man, he discovers there's much more to being an adult than he's bargained for. Marmolejo was last seen on TUTS' main stage in Elf, The Musical. Some of his other credits include Peter Pan and Yankee Doodle Dandy. Playing the role of 30-year old Josh is Sugar Land native Sean Hardin. Hardin has performed in many shows with HSMT, including Xanadu, Legally Blonde, Tommy, Vote, 13, and Camp Rock. Katja Yanko, a Woodlands native, will appear as Mrs. Baskin, Josh's frustrated, yet loving mother who finds herself struggling to parent a pre-teen. She was last seen in TUTS' production of High School Musical at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Yanko's other credits include Legally Blonde, Annie, The Fantastiks and Little Women.

Also appearing in Big, The Musical is Austin Karkowsky, who plays Josh's best and most supportive friend, Billy. Madeline Dennison will appear as Miss Watson, the secretary at MacMillan Toy Company. Raegan Roberts will appear as Susan, the attractive Vice President of Marketing at MacMillan Toy Company, who eventually falls for grown-up Josh. Jacob Major will appear as Paul, the Vice President for Product Development at MacMillan Toy Company, who just so happens to be vying for Susan's affection. The adult cast includes Jimmy Phillips, who will play the owner of MacMillan Toy Company, George MacMillan.

The ensemble cast is composed of 50 students from TUTS' Humphreys School of Musical Theatre including: Gavin Calais, Lucas Champagne, Daniel Fonseka, John Hall, Ashton Lambert, Dylan Lambert, Matthew Smith, Scott Fonseka, Max Heyl, Shayne Holava, Kyle Holava, Luca Jarosz, Andrew Reistetter, Mallory Bechtel, Alaina Brownfield, Bianca Canal, Mia Coyle, Gerra Gistand, Fallon Jones, London Lane, Miho Maeda, Alexa Magro, McKenna Marmolejo, Kelley Parsons, Mary Robbins, Riley Shaper, Emmy Smith, Michelle Smith, Kerry Sullivan, Kaycee Swierc, Christina Bechtel, Lauren Breath, Peyton Crenshaw, Natalie Davidson, Emily Deragon, Lauren Dodds, Ella Ducharme, Promise Facciponte, Nicole Fish, Madison Friedhoff, Raiya Goodman, Simone Haight, Katelyn Kapocsi, Sarah Klein, Savannah May, Lily Ohanian, Carlie Sachs, Jacqueline Touchet, Mara-Catherine Wissinger and Mia-Margaret Wissinger.

Theatre Under The Stars' production of Big, The Musical is made possible by the Miller Theatre Advisory Board, Inc. and The Wortham Foundation, Inc.. For more information on the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre or Big, The Musical, please visit www.TUTS.com/Big.

All 11:00 a.m. performances will have a shorter run time (approximately 70 minutes) and seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis (there are no printed tickets for these performances). Evening performances will run full show length and printed tickets are available for the covered seating area. To learn more about how to reserve these tickets, visit http://milleroutdoortheatre.com/seating. In order to guarantee the best reserved seats, a $50 donation can be made to TUTS for two seats to your choice of 8:15 p.m. performances. Visit www.tuts.com/donatenow and click on Do Something BIG to make a donation and reserve your seats today!

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