45 Houston Area High Schools To Compete For The Ultimate Real-Life High School Musical Award

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is thrilled to announce that the eighth annual Tommy Tune Awards will include 45 high schools from the greater Houston area.  Developed by TUTS in 2002, the Tommy Tune Awards honor musical theatre excellence at the high school level.  During the 2009-2010 school year, a team of 35 Houston-based theatre professionals will evaluate the participating high school productions and announce the winners at a Tony Awards-style ceremony to be held April 20, 2010 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.  The event will feature spotlight numbers from the nominated shows, as well as award presentations to the performers, directors, choreographers, orchestras and designers, who have defined excellence throughout 2009 - 2010.

TUTS' Tommy Tune Awards are designed not only to acknowledge remarkable artists in musical theatre at the high school level, but also to encourage their future in the profession by providing an opportunity to win scholarships, compete on a national level, and receive recognition from their peers.  The awards, drawn from 15 categories, will honor the following participating schools and their productions:

    * Ball High School, Willy Wonka (December 10 - 12 at 8pm)
    * Bellaire High School, 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee (November 19 - 21 at 8pm)
    * Carnegie Vanguard High School, Into the Woods (October 15 - 17 at 7pm)
    * Cinco Ranch High School, TBA (February 4 - 6 at 7:30pm)
    * Clear Brook High School, TBA (February 4 - 6, and 11- 13 at 7:30pm)
    * Clear Lake High School, Crazy For You (January 29, 30 and February 5, 6, at 7pm and January 31 and February 7 at 2pm)
    * Clear Springs High School, The Wizard of Oz (January 29 - 31, February 4 - 7 at 7:30pm)
    * Cypress Falls High School, A Funny Thing Happened ..Forum (October 15-17, and 19 at 7pm)
    * Cypress Springs High School, Singin In The Rain (January 28- 30 at 8pm and January 30 at 2pm)
    * Energized for STEM (Central), TBA (DatesTBA)
    * Energized for STEM (West), TBA (Dates TBA)
    * Episcopal High School, The Drowsy Chaperone (March 4-  6 at 7:30pm and March 7 at 3:00pm)
    * Friendswood High School, TBA (February 19, 20, 26, 27 at 7pm and February 28 at 2:30pm)
    * G. W. Carver Magnet High School, Sweet Charity (January 7 and 8 at 7pm)
    * George Bush High School, Once Upon A Mattress (January 28- 30, and February 2 at 7pm, January 30 at 2pm)
    * Hastings High School, The Wiz (November 6 and 7 at 7pm)
    * Houston Christian High School, Thoroughly Modern Millie (March 4-6 at 7pm and March 7 at 2:30pm)
    * HSPVA, A Man of No Importance (January 28 at 6pm, January 29, 30 at 7pm, January 30 at 2pm)
    * Jack Yates High School, TBA (Dates TBA)
    * John Cooper School, The Secret Garden (November 12- 14 at 7pm and November 14, 15 at 2pm)
    * Katy High School, My Fair Lady (February 4- 6 at 7pm)
    * Kempner High School, Guys and Dolls (November 11- 14 at 7pm)
    * Kerr High School, The Fantasticks (October 16, 17, 23, and 24 at 7pm)
    * Kingwood High School, Hello, Dolly! (November 19- 21, and 23 at 7:30pm and November 21 at 2pm)
    * Klein Collins High School, Footloose (January 28- 30 and Feb 1, 2 at 7pm and January 30 at 2pm)
    * Klein High School, TBA (January 20 - 30 and February 4 - 6, and 8 at 7pm)
    * Lamar High School, The Wizard of Oz (February 18- 20 at 7:30pm)
    * Magnolia High School, TBA (Dates TBA)
    * Magnolia West High School, Annie Get Your Gun (January 29 and 30 at 7pm and January 30 at 2PM)
    * Memorial High School, 42nd Street (January 28- 30, February 4- 6 at 7:30pm and February 6 at 2:30pm)
    * Morton Ranch High School, Bye Bye Birdie (January 21- 23 at 7pm and January 24 at 3pm)
    * North Shore Senior High, Annie (February 18- 20 and 24- 26 at 7pm)
    * Northland Christian School, The Wizard of Oz (October 22, 24 at 7:30pm and October 25 at 3pm)
    * Pasadena Memorial High School, Thoroughly Modern Millie (February 4- 6 at 7pm and February 7 at 3pm)
    * Pearland High School, The Pajama Game (January 22, 23 and 28 - 30 at 7pm and January 24 at 3pm)
    * Sam Rayburn High School, Little Shop of Horrors (January 7- 9 at 7:30pm)
    * Spring Woods High School, Willy Wonka (January 29, 30, February 5, 6 at 7:30pm and January 30, 31, and February 6 at 2:30pm)
    * St. Agnes Academy, TBA (February 26, 27, March 5, 6 at 7:30pm)
    * St. John's School, Curtains (March 5 and 6 at 7:30pm)
    * St. Pius X High School, Little Mary Sunshine (February 19, 20 at 7pm)
    * Stafford High School, The King and I (January 29 at 7:30pm, January 30 at 7pm and January 31 at 3pm)
    * Stratford High School, Steel Pier (January 28- 30 and February 4- 6 at 7:30pm and January 30 at 2pm)
    * Texas City High School, Little Shop of Horrors (January 27- 29, and 30 at 7pm)
    * Westchester Academy, Little Shop of Horrors (November 5- 7 and 12- 14 at 7:30pm and November 7 at 2pm)
    * William B Travis High School, Little Shop of Horrors (January 28- 30 at 8pm and January 31 at 2:30pm)

TUTS' 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.   His latest national tour was the TUTS-launched, Dr. Doolittle.

TUTS is part of a much larger national movement in the recognition of musical theatre talent at the high school level. Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and Nederlander Presentations Inc. hosted the first National High School Musical Theater Awards last year in New York City, which featured the presentation of a "Best Actress" and "Best Actor" Award to young performers selected from 30 regional competitions including Theatre Under The Stars' Tommy Tune Awards. The Tommy Tune Awards was one of the first such awards programs in the country. Last year, TUTS founder Frank Young announced that the Best Leading Actor and Actress from the Tommy Tune Awards will go on to compete for the "Jimmy Award" on a national level in New York City at the newly created National High School Musical Awards! 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. Theatre Under The Stars will send the Best Actor and Best Actress to represent TUTS in the week-long national competition for the grand prize - a four year scholarship to NYU!

The Tommy Tune Awards ceremony is open to the general public, and tickets will be available for purchase beginning on April 7, 2010.  For information on the 2010 Tommy Tune Awards ceremony, call (713) 558-2600 or visit TUTS.com/TommyTune. Theatre Under The Stars thanks The Brown Foundation, Inc for their generous sponsorship of the Tommy Tune Awards.

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 (HSMT) 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.   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. In addition to the educational initiatives pursued by HSMT, TUTS has a robust Community Outreach branch, working with a variety of organizations including YMCA, Texas Childrens Hospital, and may Houston area schools to bring theatre beyond the stage.