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

Michelle Pfeiffer visits Houston in new Christmas movie Oh. What. Fun.

Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Michelle Pfeiffer in Oh. What. Fun.

Of all the formulaic movie genres, Christmas/holiday movies are among the most predictable. No matter what the problem is that arises between family members, friends, or potential romantic partners, the stories in holiday movies are designed to give viewers a feel-good ending even if the majority of the movie makes you feel pretty bad.

That’s certainly the case in Oh. What. Fun., in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire, an underappreciated mom living in Houston with her inattentive husband, Nick (Denis Leary). As the film begins, her three children are arriving back home for Christmas: The high-strung Channing (Felicity Jones) is married to the milquetoast Doug (Jason Schwartzman); the aloof Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) brings home yet another new girlfriend; and the perpetual child Sammy (Dominic Sessa) has just broken up with his girlfriend.

Each of the family members seems to be oblivious to everything Claire does for them, especially when it comes to what she really wants: For them to nominate her to win a trip to see a talk show in L.A. hosted by Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). When she accidentally gets left behind on a planned outing to see a show, Claire reaches her breaking point and — in a kind of Home Alone in reverse — she decides to drive across the country to get to the show herself.

Written and directed by Michael Showalter (The Idea of You), and co-written by Chandler Baker (who wrote the short story on which the film is based), the movie never establishes any kind of enjoyable rhythm. Each of the characters, including competitive neighbor Jeanne (Joan Chen), is assigned a character trait that becomes their entire personality, with none of them allowed to evolve into something deeper.

The filmmakers lean hard into the idea that Claire is a person who always puts her family first and receives very little in return, but the evidence presented in the story is sketchy at best. Every situation shown in the film is so superficial that tension barely exists, and the (over)reactions by Claire give her family members few opportunities to make up for their failings.

The most interesting part of the movie comes when Claire actually makes it to the Zazzy Sims show. Even though what happens there is just as unbelievable as anything else presented in the story, Showalter and Baker concoct a scene that allows Claire and others to fully express the central theme of the film, and for a few minutes the movie actually lives up to its title.

Pfeiffer, given her first leading role since 2020’s French Exit, is a somewhat manic presence, and her thick Texas accent and unnecessary voiceover don’t do her any favors. It seems weird to have such a strong supporting cast with almost nothing of substance to do, but almost all of them are wasted, including Danielle Brooks in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. The lone exception is Longoria, who is a blast in the few scenes she gets.

Oh. What. Fun. is far from the first movie to try and fail at becoming a new holiday classic, but the pedigree of Showalter and the cast make this dismal viewing experience extra disappointing. Ironically, overworked and underappreciated moms deserve a much better story than the one this movie delivers.

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Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Prime Video.

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