Four SBISD high school theater departments and 10 students won 28 separate nominations for the upcoming Tommy Tune Awards presentation, sponsored by Theatre Under the Stars. Memorial High received 14 nominations, Stratford High won 12 nominations, and Spring Woods High and Westchester Academy for International Studies each earned one team nomination. The annual Tommy Tune Awards gala will be held at 7:30 p.m. on April 22 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts downtown.
Memorial High won a Best Musical nomination for Annie Get Your Gun, the fictional tale of famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley. The student musical has also been nominated for Best Direction, Choreography, Best Orchestra, Best Costume Design, Best Lighting, Best Technical Crew and Best Technical Execution.
Performance nominations for Memorial High students include Best Featured Performers, Michael Perez (Chief Sitting Bull) and Donnie Villoni (Tommy Keeler); Best Lead Actor, Justin White (Frank Butler); Best Leading Actress, Marlen Nahhas (Annie Oakley); Best Supporting Actor, Dino Nicandros (Buffalo Bill); and Best Supporting Actress, Candice Pink (Winnie Tate). Nicole Rae Morgan is Memorial High’s theatre director.
Stratford High’s high-intensity musical version of The Wizard of Oz earned 12 Tommy Tune Award nominations. The student production was nominated for Best Musical, Best Music Direction, Best Direction, Best Scenic Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Crew/Technical Direction and Best Ensemble.
Nominated for great performances are Stratford High students Al Fallick (Cowardly Lion), Nathan Gregory (Tin Man) and Eric Johnson (Scarecrow), for Best Supporting Actor; Stephanie Cooksey (Glinda-Aunt Em), Best Supporting Actress; and The Jitterbug Dancers for Best Featured Performer. Stratford Playhouse is directed by CeCe Prudhomme.
Also nominated this year are Spring Woods High School’s Jenny Poye, as Best Supporting Actress, for her portrayal of Mrs. Mae Peterson in Bye, Bye, Birdie!, and Westchester Academy’s technical crew for Best Crew/Technical Execution in the school’s production of Annie. Heading up the drama department at Spring Woods High is Anne Yancey and Terry Hibbert. At Westchester Academy, Caroline Forney is theatre director.
Casts nominated for Best Musical will peform a 5-minute segment during the Tommy Tune Awards presentation. Best Leading Actor and Actress nominees perform a song medley during the event, similar to a Tony Awards gala. Forty-one Houston-area high schools were evaluated for this year’s Tommy Tune nominations.