announcing the winners of the 20th tommy tune awards!

The 20th Tommy Tune Awards from Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) was a celebration to be remembered.

“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

Jimmy Awards^® Nominee Winner:

Eliran Masti, Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, The Prom

Jimmy Awards^® Nominee Runner Up:

Natalie Green, Bridgeland High School, Follies

Jimmy Awards^® Nominee Runner Up:

Michael Deis, Stratford High School, 42^nd Street

North Star Award:

Cooper Clarke, Houston Christian High School, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown

Congeniality Award:

Haley Griffin, Cypress Ranch High School, Disney’s Newsies

Spirit Award:

Immanuel Poole, Westfield High School,Chicago: Teen Edition

Outstanding Ensemble:

Tier 1: Dulles High School, SIX: Teen Edition  

Tier 1: South Houston High School, The Wizard of Oz

Tier 2: Klein High School, Mamma Mia! 

Tier 2: Kinder HSPVA, After Midnight

Outstanding Technical Achievement:

Tier 1: Houston Christian High School, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown

Tier 1: Ridge Point High School, Mamma Mia!

Tier 2: Montgomery High School, Matilda the Musical

Tier 2: Second Baptist School, Disney’s The Little Mermaid

Outstanding Orchestra:

Tier 1: Patricia E. Paetow High School, Pippin

Tier 2: Klein High School, Mamma Mia!

Tier 2: Klein Oak High School, The Addams Family Musical: Student Edition

Tier 2: Obra D. Tompkins High School, Tuck Everlasting

Outstanding Director:

Tier 1: Robin Welch, Klein Collins High School, Mean Girls High School Edition

Tier 2: Natalie Dommer, Pasadena Memorial High School, Disney’s Newsies

Tier 2: Scott Lambert, The Kinkaid School, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Outstanding Music Direction:

Tier 1: Blaine Cowen, South Houston High School, The Wizard of Oz

Tier 2: Charles Harrison and Alexandra King, The Kinkaid School, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Outstanding Choreography:

Tier 1: Alexia Alla and Marnie Kapich, Klein Collins High School, Mean Girls High School Edition

Tier 1: Brianna McCray Holmes, Denzel Taylor, Kyndal Hutto and Faith Bumper, G.W. Carver High School, The Bodyguard 

Tier 2: Courtney Jones, Kinder HSPVA, After Midnight

Tier 2: Danyale Williams, The Kinkaid School, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Tier 2: Jennifer Bauer-Conley, The Emery/Wiener School, Alice By Heart

Tier 2: Julian Nanez, Klein High School, Mamma Mia!

Outstanding Lighting Design:

Tier 1: Carson White, Kinsley Roberts, and Patrick Cashion, Ridge Point High School, Mamma Mia!

Tier 2: Mark Sell and Ryan Hay, The Kinkaid School, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Outstanding Scenic Design:

Tier 1: Jillian Staible and Sterling Smith, Ridge Point High School, Mamma Mia!

Tier 2: Nicole Morgan, Montgomery High School, Matilda the Musical

Outstanding Costume Design:

Tier 1: August Bermudez and Toriana Smith, Ridge Point High School, Mammia Mia!

Tier 2: Kate Mehaffey, Klein High School, Mamma Mia!

Tier 2: Bridgeland Costume Department, Bridgeland High School, Follies

Outstanding Sound Design:

Tier 1: Abigail Jimenez, Klein Cain, The Wizard of Oz

Outstanding Stage Management:

Tier 1: Ava Fraser, Abagale Bond, and Gage Watzinger, Klein Collins High School, Mean Girls High School Edition

Tier 1: Allan Currier, Houston Christian High School, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown

Tier 2: Kate Diers, Stratford High School, 42^nd Street

Tier 2: Chayton Reel, Scarlett Kuyn and Henry Patino, Klein Oak High School, The Addams Family Musical: School Edition

Outstanding Supporting Lead:

Ronnit Jain, Clear Lake High School, “Josh,” Zombie Prom

Nina Le, Pasadena Memorial High School, “Les,” Disney’s Newsies

Outstanding Singer:

Comfort Azagidi, Kinder HSPVA, “Woman Be Wise,” After Midnight

Gentry Lumpkin, Kinder HSPVA, “Dee Dee,” The Prom

Caroline Jacobson, Klein High School, “Donna Sheridan,” Mamma Mia!

Emma Vogelsang, Memorial High School, “The Witch,” Into The Woods

Aisha Choquette, Obra D. Tompkins, “Mae Tuck,” Tuck Everlasting

Isabelle King, The Kinkaid School, “Ella,” Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Outstanding Actor:

Garrett Smith, Montgomery High School, “Miss Agatha Trunchbull,” Matilda the Musical

Outstanding Dancer:

Giovanni Gonzales, G.W. Carver High School, “Principal Dancer,” The Bodyguard

Julian Nanez, Klein High School, “Eddie,” Mamma Mia!

Outstanding Honorable Mention:

Matthew Moland, Klein High School, “Pepper,” Mamma Mia!

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.

Jimmy Awards^Ⓡ

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.