The 2010 Tommy Tune Awards have been announced! To a crowd of over 2,000, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) President and CEO, John C. Breckenridge, declared the winners of TUTS' eighth annual Tommy Tune Awards on the evening of Tuesday, April 20, at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Developed by TUTS, the Tommy Tune Awards honor musical theatre excellence at the high school level. After reviewing and evaluating the 44 participating Houston-area high school productions during the 2009-2010 school year, a team of 34 Houston-based theatre professionals made 161 nominations in 15 categories. The winners are as follows:
Best Musical - Episcopal High School / The Drowsy Chaperone
Best Leading Actor - Dino Nicandros as Julian Marsh in Memorial High School's 42nd Street
Best Leading Actress - Stephanie Styles as Janet Van de Graff in Episcopal High School's The Drowsy Chaperone
Best Supporting Actor - Jeffrey Allison as
Will Parker in Friendswood High School's Oklahoma!
Best Supporting Actress - Teagan Batts as Aunt Eller in Friendswood High School's Oklahoma!
Best Featured Performer - Nicholas Hunt as Ching Ho in Cinco Ranch High School's Thoroughly Modern Millie
Best Direction - Episcopal High School / The Drowsy Chaperone
Best Musical Direction - Friendswood High School / Oklahoma!
Best Choreography - Episcopal High School / The Drowsy Chaperone
Best Orchestra - Cinco Ranch High School / Thoroughly Modern Millie
Best Ensemble / Chorus - Episcopal High School / The Drowsy Chaperone
Best Crew & Technical Execution -
John Cooper School / The Secret Garden
Best Scenic Design - Pasadena Memorial High School / Thoroughly Modern Millie
Best Costume Design - Episcopal High School / The Drowsy Chaperone
Best Lighting Design -
John Cooper School / The Secret Garden
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, the awards for Best Musical as well as Best Leading Actor and Actress, were presented by winning Project Runway model, Kalyn Hemphill and Broadway veteran,
Kevin Bernard.
The Audience erupted in laughter when Best Leading Actor of the 2009
Tommy Tune Awards, Al Fallick, was hauled off the stage by award presenters and former NFL Players, Daryl Gardener and Joseph Wesley. During his acceptance speech last year, Fallick commented that the
Tommy Tune Awards prove that in Texas, "there's more to life than football." Among the other notable presenters were Ernie Manouse of PBS, Rebecca Spera of ABC 13, St.
John Flynn, of NPR's The Front Row, Stanton Welch of the Houston Ballet.
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 eight 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 Elizabeth Conger, of Friendswood High School, Matthew Jamison, of HSPVA, Aaron Seth Krohn, of Spring Woods High School, Alexandra Oakes, of Pasadena Memorial High School, Stephanie Styles, of Episcopal High School, Francis Vu, of Klein High School, and Justin West, of Westchester Academy. The prestigious Ruth Denny Award was presented to Stanley Andrew Jackson III, of G. W. Carver Magnet High School.
The Best Leading Actor and Actress will go on to compete for the "Jimmy Award" at a national level in New York City at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards! Created in 2009, the Jimmy Awards are named after Broadway theater owner and producer,
James M. Nederlander, and bring the best from around the country to compete on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre in June 2010. Theatre Under The Stars will cover all of their expenses as the Best Actor and Best Actress represent TUTS in the week-long national contest. The grand prize - A four year scholarship to NYU! While in New York, participants will have the opportunity to attend an open casting call with some of the largest agencies in the country including Disney, Nickelodeon and more.
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, Tune received nine Tony Awards for 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. Most recently, Mr. Tune directed the new musical, Turn of the Century, at the esteemed
Goodman Theatre in Chicago. The show, slated for Broadway, was written by
Marshall Brickman and
Rick Elice of Jersey Boys fame. This year, Mr. Tune marks his 50th year in show business with his latest tour, Steps in Time, A Broadway Biography in Song and Dance.
The 2010
Tommy Tune Awards is generously supported by The Brown Foundation, Inc., ConocoPhillips and Marsha &
David Taylor.
Founded in 1968, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is Houston's acclaimed non-profit musical theatre company and is currently 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. TUTS has also produced international tours including
Debbie Reynolds in The Unsinkable
Molly Brown,
Juliet Prowse in Mame,
Robert Goulet in Man of La Mancha, as well as critically acclaimed local re-inventions of classics such as Cabaret and Les Miserables. As a way to continue the tradition of musical theatre, TUTS' Humphreys School of Musical Theatre provides instruction and stage experience for more than 1,700 students annually through both The Academy and The Studio, which allow students to flourish in a year-round schedule of classes.
Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett Photography
