Awarded Tommy Tune and Jimmy Awards by Theatre Under the Stars
HOUSTON — The 20th Tommy Tune Awards from Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) was a celebration to be remembered. The renowned theater group has announced that Aldine ISD’s Carver High School theater program, and the students, have won the top two prizes in the annual Tommy Tune Awards.
“The incredible talent all of these students have and the community they build throughout this process is truly what it’s been about since the beginning,” said Jacob Shideler, TUTS Director of Education.
The winners of the 2024 Tommy Tune Awards are:
Outstanding Musical:
Tier 1: G.W. Carver High School, The Bodyguard
Tier 2: The Kinkaid School, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella
Jimmy Awards® Nominee Winner: Alyssa Dorsey, G.W. Carver High School, The Bodyguard
Carver High School also won these additional awards:
Outstanding Choreography:
Tier 1: Brianna McCray Holmes, Denzel Taylor, Kyndal Hutto and Faith Bumper, G.W. Carver High School, The Bodyguard
Outstanding Dancer:
Giovanni Gonzales, G.W. Carver High School, “Principal Dancer,” The Bodyguard.
The power of education, artistry and community has come together at the Tommy Tune Awards where passionate young adults have had the opportunity to take the stage together and share their creative accomplishments with their greater-Houston community for more than 20 years.
Throughout the 2023-24 school year, adjudicators evaluated every participating school’s show, focusing on each element of the production. The adjudicators are made up of a group of Houston-based theatre professionals who have backgrounds as performers, designers, directors, choreographers, and musicians; and who have years of experience working in arts education and administration.
The Tommy Tune Awards are named for Broadway legend, Houston native and Lamar High School alumnus Tommy Tune. A performer, director and choreographer with more than 50 years of stage experience, Tune received 10 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.
Of the 28 Tommy Tune Award nominees for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role, two were selected via a rigorous audition process adjudicated by a panel of industry professionals ultimately winning an opportunity to represent Houston and TUTS at the Jimmy Awards®. The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (the Jimmy Awards®) are a national celebration of outstanding student achievement, recognizing individual artistry in vocal, dance, and acting performance and elevating the importance of theatre arts education in schools. The Jimmy Awards are presented by The Broadway League Foundation.
THEATRE UNDER THE STARS (“TUTS”) – (Dan Knechtges, Artistic Director; Hillary J Hart, Executive Director) – Theatre Under The Stars delivers outstanding musical theatre experiences. We cultivate the art form — producing world-class shows, providing access for the community, and training the next generation — for Houston, by Houston. For more information, visit tuts.com.