And the winners are. . .

The high school Oscars, Tonys and . . . Super Bowl? The shrieking wonder of theTommy Tunes

Episcopal High School's production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels earned BestMusical and Best Musical Direction.
From left: TUTS president and CEO John Breckenridge, First ever Tommy Tune Awardwinner for Best Actress Stephanie Gibson, Best Supporting Actress Morgan Starr,Tommy Tune, Best Leading Actor Billy Cohen, Best Featured Performer CherylCedillo, Best Supporting Actor Mason Patterson, Best Leading Actress CaitlinFinnie and Tommy Tune Award presenter Manuel Santos.
Scholarship winners, from left: Alma Acosta (Elsik High School), Tommy Tune,Nathaly Garcia (Elsik High School), Billy Cohen (Episcopal High School), MonicaBrown (Kingwood High School), Kate Court (Pearland High School), Shelby Stark(Klein High School), Eleonore Verkerk (Stafford High School), Haylee Hoelscher(Houston Christian High School), Elisabeth Del Toro (Friendswood High School),Jeremiah James (Cypress Ranch High School) and TUTS' John Breckenridge.
Ruth Denney Scholarship winner Billy Cohen with Tommy Tune and TUTS' JohnBreckenridge.
The Tommy Tunes Awards celebrates the blood, sweat and tears of everyone whocontributed to an experience that surely changes the lives of those involved.
Photo by Bruce Bennett

ABC 13's Don Nelson hit the nail right on the head when he described the tenor of the Theatre Under the Stars' Tommy Tune Awards as a mélange of Dancing with the Stars, the Super Bowl and the Oscars.

And MIX 96.5' FM's Ayana Mack was right to say that she was in the company of tomorrow's megastars — in addition to today's celebs like Smash cast member Manuel Santos, who graduated from TUTS' Humphreys School of Musical Theatre, Broadway diva Stephanie Gibson, who took home the first ever Best Leading Actress Tommy Tune in 2002, and of course industry veteran and National Medal of Arts recipient Tommy Tune, sporting hot pink cowboy tap boots.

In a video message, first Tommy Best Leading Actor-winner Josh Brener (Glee, The Big Bang Theory and House of Lies) joked that "if not for my mentors in high school, I might have a real job today."

"Every time I step on a stage, Ruth is with me," an emotional Tune told the audience.

Someone passing by the Hobby Center for Performing Arts Tuesday evening could have confused the throng of impeccably chic high schoolers with Houston's creme-de-la-creme socialites on their way to a typical black-tie extravaganza. But the brigade of school buses parked nearby told a different story.

More than 2,500 young actors, actresses, designers, directors, stage hands and their teachers, families and friends from 44 schools flocked from all over the nine county region to partake in the 10th anniversary of the ceremony that champions excellence in high school musical theater.

Though the moment in the spotlight is gratifying, it is one of the coveted scholarships that students wanted. For the Best Leading Actor and Best Leading Actress, add an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to compete in the Jimmy Awards for a chance to garner a four-year scholarship to New York University.

And the winners are. . .

Drum roll please.

Those top two prizes went to Billy Cohen for his hilarious and theatrical take on Freddy Benson in Episcopal High School's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Caitlin Finnie, whose voice was pristine as Belle in John Cooper School's Beauty and the Beast. Cohen also earned the Ruth Denny Award, the highest honor, named after Tune's influential teacher.

"Every time I step on a stage, Ruth is with me," an emotional Tune told the audience.

Episcopal High School's production also earned Best Musical and Best Musical Direction. Klein High School's version of Once Upon a Mattress picked up Best Direction, Best Lighting Design and Best Ensemble / Chorus.

Individual awards for Best Leading Actor and Actress were given to Friendswood High School's Mason Patterson for his role as Vernon Hines in The Pajama Game, and Klein Oak High School's Morgan Starr for her Smitty in How To Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Best Featured Performer went to Morton Ranch High School's Cheryl Cedillo for Penny Pingleton in Hairspray.

The Tommy Tune Awards celebrates the blood, sweat and tears of everyone who contributed to an experience that surely changes the lives of those involved.

St. John's School's Chicago won Best Choreography, Woodlands High School's Singin' In The Rain collected the Best Orchestra award, Clear Springs High School's The Drowsy Chaperone took home Best Crew & Technical Execution, Friendswood High School's The Pajama Game won Best Scenic Design and Stratford High School's Will Rogers Follies scooped the Best Costume Design prize.

There was no doubt what school was sitting where in the auditorium. High-decibel cheers, thunderous applause and numerous standing ovations deafened the beginning and ending of some of the musical performances and speeches. And the adults weren't shy to join in the mischief including this reporter, who had no stake in the ceremony.

By the warm embraces and conversations before, at intermission and post performance, it was clear-cut that the Tommy Tune Awards aren't about establishing winner and loser though.

Rather, it celebrates the blood, sweat and tears of everyone who contributed to an experience that surely changes the lives of those involved.

KTRK Ch. 13 will air a two-hour special hosted by Don Nelson on June 3 at noon, featuring behind the scenes interviews and performances from Theatre Under the Stars 10th Annual Tommy Tune Awards.

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Movie review

Nerdy teen comedies make a comeback with new movie Summer of 69

Photo courtesy of Hulu

Sam Morelos and Chloe Fineman in Summer of 69.

There was a trend in the late 2010s/early 2020s of bawdy comedies featuring teenage female protagonists, including Blockers, Booksmart, and Yes, God, Yes. Those types of films seemed to go by the wayside in recent years, but they’re making a comeback with the new film Summer of 69.

Abby (Sam Morelos) is a high school senior and video game streamer who has had a crush on her classmate Max (Matt Cornett) for her entire childhood. When she learns that Max has recently broken up with his longtime girlfriend, she’s determined to make her move. With advice from a confidant that Max likes a certain sexual position, Abby sets out to learn as much as she can about it, including hiring a stripper, Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman), to help her.

Coincidentally, Santa Monica is facing a situation where the club at which she works, Diamond Dolls, will be closed if the owner doesn’t come up with $20,000 in a week. Abby, who comes from a well-to-do family, seems to offer the perfect solution, and so the two agree to a week of lessons for that amount. Naturally, all sorts of complications arise, as well as the two women forming an unexpected bond.

Written and directed by Jillian Bell, with help from co-writers Jules Byrne and Liz Nico, the film is both suggestive and innocent at the same time. For all of the talk about sex and innuendo, having the nerdy and inexperienced Abby at the center of the film ensures that the story remains relatively chaste throughout. That includes scenes at the strip club, where Bell makes the choice to show almost no nudity.

Most of the humor of the film stems from Abby’s lack of experience, highlighted by her having “sexual” fantasies about Max that never actually get to the sex part. The juxtaposition between Abby and Santa Monica is also used for laughs, although Bell and her co-writers make sure to include a side story for the dancer that makes her into a three-dimensional person.

What ultimately makes the movie succeed is the way it keeps its characters relatable. Many high school films feel the need to play into a bunch of stereotypes, but those are kept to a minimum here. Instead, Bell upends expectations by delivering honest - sometimes to a fault for the characters - dialogue that acknowledges the spectrum of sexual realities for high schoolers, a version that differs from insatiable horniness of some other teen comedies.

Morelos, one of the stars of Netflix’s That ‘90s Show, makes for a charming lead, someone who can convincingly take her character from awkward to confident over the course of the story. Fineman, best known for her current stint as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, complements her well, showing her comedic prowess in a number of physical scenes. A supporting cast that includes Nicole Byer, Paula Pell, Alex Moffat, and Natalie Morales keeps the energy level high.

Despite its titillating title, Summer of 69 is much more sweet than naughty. Like most coming-of-age movies, it’s about a girl who’s trying to figure out where she fits in the world. The answers she finds aren’t always the ones she was expecting, but in the best possible way.

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Summer of 69 starts streaming on Hulu on May 9.

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