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

Fun visuals can't save The Magic Faraway Tree's meager plot

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids — Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) — are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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