TUTS Announces Ninth Annual Tommy Tune Awards Winners

The 2011 Tommy Tune Awards winners have been announced! To a crowd of more than 2,000 people, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) declared the winners of TUTS' ninth annual Tommy Tune Awards on the evening of Wednesday, April 20, at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Adding extra excitement to the evening, the award ceremony's namesake and nine-time Tony Award winner Tommy Tune made a special appearance to deliver the show's top award - Best Musical.

"Theatre Under The Stars is proud to spotlight the best and brightest of Houston's young musical theatre talent with the Tommy Tune Awards," said John Breckenridge, TUTS President and CEO. "Of our nine years in presenting this award, this year proved itself an exceptionally strong year, and we commend all the nominees and winners on their hard work."

Developed by TUTS, the Tommy Tune Awards honor musical theatre excellence at the high school level. After reviewing and evaluating the 45 participating Houston-area high school productions during the 2010-11 school year, a team of 35 Houston-based theatre professionals made 162 nominations in 15 categories. The winners are as follows:

Best Musical - Stratford High School / Damn Yankees
Best Leading Actor - Robert Price as William Barfée in Cypress Falls High School's 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Best Leading Actress - Mia Gerachis as Baker's Wife in Episcopal High School's Into The Woods
Best Supporting Actor - Jacob Khalil as Lt. Cable in Clements High School's South Pacific
Best Supporting Actress - Carley Nunn as Miss Adelaide in Seven Lakes High School's Guys and Dolls
Best Featured Performer - Melissa Beaird as Rona Perreti in Klein High School's 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Best Direction - Stratford High School / Damn Yankees
Best Musical Direction - Pearland High School / Oklahoma!
Best Choreography - Houston Christian High School / Fiddler on the Roof
Best Orchestra - Stratford High School / Damn Yankees
Best Ensemble / Chorus - Stratford High School / Damn Yankees
Best Crew & Technical Execution - Stratford High School / Damn Yankees
Best Scenic Design - Seven Lakes High School / Guys and Dolls
Best Costume Design - G. W. Carver Magnet High School / The Wiz
Best Lighting Design - Klein High School / 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
In addition to the Tony-awards-style ceremony, the evening featured performances from nominees in the Best Musical category, a musical medley with this year's Best Leading Actor and Best Leading Actress nominees, and a grand finale including two students from each participating school.

Thrilling the young audience members, presenters for the awards included Houston-area native, Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT) graduate and cast member in Broadway's revival of La Cage Aux Folles, Logan Keslar, and last year's Tommy Tune Award winner for Best Leading Actress, Stephanie Styles. Among the other notable presenters were Ernie Manouse of PBS, St. John Flynn of NPR's The Front Row, notable former news anchor Linda Lorelle, Don Nelson of ABC 13 and Stanton Welch of the Houston Ballet.

One more memorable appearance occurred during the evening: Constantine Maroulis, the former American Idol contestant and star of Rock Of Ages, which TUTS will present May 31 - June 12 at Hobby Center, created a special video to greet and congratulate the Tommy Tune Award nominees.

TUTS' Tommy Tune Awards are designed not only to acknowledge remarkable musical theatre talent at the high school level, but also to encourage future development. TUTS presented ten scholarships to outstanding participating students of the Tommy Tune Awards including the Ruth Denney Scholarship, named in honor of Tune's mentor and legendary Lamar High School drama teacher. Students under consideration were required to meet specific criteria set out by the Scholarship Committee, as well as submit an application and essay. The winners include Katherine Leigh Creeggan (William B. Travis High School), Comfort Katchy (Cesar Chavez High School), John Karna (Stratford High School), Ruben Perez (Mayde Creek High School), Robert Price (Cypress Falls High School), Patrick Reilly (Stratford High School), Chelsea Sanders (Clear Lake High School), Megan Thibodeaux (Clear Springs High School) and Heather Woitena (Pasadena Memorial High School). The prestigious Ruth Denny Award, which carries an increased stipend, was presented to Logan Elizabeth Hardy of Cypress Ranch High School.

As Best Leading Actor and Actress, Price and Gerachis will go on to compete at the national level for the Jimmy^TM Award at the National High School Musical Theater Awards in New York City. Established in 2009, the Jimmy^TMAwards are named after Broadway theater owner and producer, James M. Nederlander. This year, the program will bring the country's best high school performers together to compete on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on Monday, June 27, 2011.

Theatre Under The Stars will cover all expenses for Price and Gerachis to represent TUTS in this week-long national event. While in New York, Jimmy^TM Award participants will have the opportunity to participate in rehearsals and master classes; receive one-on-one coaching from theater professionals; be seen by casting agents; meet and converse with Broadway actors; and compete for scholarships and other prizes. The week's events will culminate in a live awards show where the Jimmy^TM Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress will be presented.

The Theatre Under The Stars Tommy Tune Awards are named for Houston native and Lamar High School alumnus, Tommy Tune. A performer, director, and choreographer with more than 50 years of stage experience, Tune received nine Tony Awards for his work in the following productions: Seesaw, My One and Only, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, Nine, Grand Hotel, and The Will Rogers Follies. He was also awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2003 by President Bush.

Title sponsors for the 2011 Tommy Tune Awards are Citi and Leticia and Steve Trauber. Additional support is provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc., ConocoPhillips and Marsha and David Taylor.

Theatre Under The Stars 2010-11 Sensational Season is generously sponsored by St. Luke's Episcopal Health System. For all of Theatre Under The Stars' 2010-2011 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 (TUTS) 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 Misérables. 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.

As a way to continue the tradition of musical theatre, TUTS' Education provides instruction and stage experience for more than 21,000 students annually, allowing students to flourish in a year-round schedule of classes. With a common goal - to expand arts access to children of all abilities - The River Performing and Visual Arts Center (The River) merged with Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) in 2010, creating a unique, barrier free, arts education model for non-profit musical theatre performing arts organizations. With the merger, TUTS Education now provides extended on-site programming as well as off-site programming for children in schools, hospitals and other community-based sites.

 

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