Tickets are $10. Pop Show is 7 pm Saturday, May 18 in the Klein Oak Auditorium. The 2013 theme is Broadway Bound and features singers from the six choirs, smaller group numbers, and solos by some of Klein Oak’s most talented singers. The concert will include a few songs from Broadway’s most memorable shows.

You are strongly encouraged to purchase your seats in advance in order to ensure you have a seat.  We cannot allow standing room people because of Fire Code violations. We anticipate that tickets will sell out quickly so reserve your seats early.

The online ticketing system allows you to reserve and select your exact seats for the Pop Show. Tickets will be held at Will Call and may be retrieved the night of the show.

• May 29: For all Klein Oak rising sophomores through seniors, starting at 2:45 pm
• May 30: For incoming freshmen, starting at 4 pm as you arrive from school

Please prepare two contrasting 1-minute monologues, download the production class application and audition form, complete it and bring to your audition.

This audition will serve as both your audition for a production-level theatre class, as well as for the first show of the 2013-14 school year. Callbacks will be posted May 30 outside the front of the auditorium/theatre. Callbacks will be May 31.

Tips

• Make sure your monologues are 1 minute or less
• Be professional and respectful
• Relax, and have fun!

Please visit our Klein Oak Theatre team page to join our team or donate to this important cause in the fight against cancer.

Klein Oak won the Tommy Tune Award for Best Musical Direction. Ana Martinez and Erica Herrin accepted the award with a speech recognizing the musical leadership of Klein Oak Fine Arts directors.

Klein Oak senior Ryne Nardecchia won Best Leading Actor for  his portrayal of Sweeney Todd. TUTS is sending Nardecchia to New York City to compete at the national level for the Jimmy Award at the National High School Musical Theater Awards July 1. Theatre Under the Stars also awarded Nardecchia a $3000 Tommy Tune scholarship. He will study this fall at Texas State University’s BFA Musical Theatre program under Kaitlin Hopkins. Nardecchia performed a segment from Sweeney Todd’s ”Epiphany” with the nine men in the Best Leading Actor’s medley.

TUTS awarded Morgan Starr the top scholarship of the evening — the $5000 Ruth Denney Scholarship, named in honor of Tommy Tune’s mentor and legendary Lamar High School drama teacher. Starr, a senior in Klein Oak’s IB program and ranked in the top 10 percent of her class, will study at the University of Texas at Austin’s new BFA Actor Training program in the fall, under Dr. Lucien Douglas. Starr was a nominee for Best Leading Actress for her role as Mrs. Lovett and performed a segment from “God, That’s Good!” in the Leading Actress medley.

In both of Klein Oak’s acceptance speeches, the students acknowledged the outstanding mentoring, leadership and collaboration of all the directors in Klein Oak’s Fine Arts program, recognizing Matthew Robinson, Michael Goede, Todd Clearwater, Fayla Curry and Christopher Pruett. In his speech, Nardecchia recognized the faculty “for teaching me first to be a genuine and caring human being because that’s a role I will be playing my entire life.”

TUTS posted a backstage interview of Nardecchia following his award as Best Leading Actor.

The evening kicked off with an opening number “Applause, Applause,” featuring the Best Leading and Supporting Actor and Actress nominees, including Klein Oak’s Sarah Holevinski (Best Supporting Actress nominee for her role as Johanna), Starr and Nardecchia.

Klein Oak was nominated for awards in 14 of the 15 categories. Emcee Sarah Pepper wrote the following about Klein Oak’s performance as the eighth nominee to perform a segment of its show in the category of Best Musical: “I was left speechless by Klein Oak’s performance from Sweeney Todd.”

In a recap of the event, Broadwayworld.com described Klein Oak’s Tommy Tune performance: “This brilliant ensemble sang the final reprise of “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” showcasing their ability to create an astonishing and powerfully lush wall of sound. Ranging from the lower bass notes to the highest soprano notes, there was not one pitch that was out of place. Their tuning and blending was impeccably clean and precise.” For the full article, see Broadwayworld.com.

The event closed with a fabulous finale: Two students from each of the 45 eligible schools performed Michael Moricz’s original song “Eyes on the Goal,” including Klein Oak seniors Alex Shrode and Danielle Gonzalez. With big smiles and lively choreography, they were a reminder to keep pursuing our artistic dreams.

Click here for a complete list of award winners.

If you missed this dazzling event, you can watch the 2013 Tommy Tune Awards when it airs on Houston’s ABC 13 on Sunday, June 9, 2013 from noon to 2 pm. Set your DVRs to record!

Klein Oak’s Sweeney Todd also got shout outs in the Broadwayworld.com recap of the Tommy Tune Award ceremony, as well as on Emcee Sarah Pepper’s blog.

For the complete article, click here. The article will appear in the Houston Chronicle’s Ultimate Spring section on Thursday, April 11.

“It’s very, very exciting that we are recognized,” said director Matt Robinson to the Chronicle about their 14 nominations, citing how well the band, choir, dance and theater departments worked together to put on the show.

Ryne Nardecchia in the title role and Morgan Starr as Mrs. Lovett will be featured in the medleys of the nominees for Leading Actor and Actress, and also in the opening number with Sarah Holevinski, nominee for Best Supporting Actress for Johanna. Alex Shrode (Anthony) and Danielle Gonzalez (Beggar Woman) will perform in the final number.

The 44-member cast of Sweeney Todd will perform the finale from their show, said Robinson, explaining that all eight schools nominated for best musical get to showcase a number. Forty-four Houston-area high schools competed in the Tommy Tune Awards program, which is sponsored by Theatre Under the Stars.

Also this week, YourHoustonNews.com featured Klein Oak’s Sweeney Todd photos in an article about the upcoming Tommy Tune Awards.

Best of luck to all 45 Houston area high schools participating in the Tommy Tune Award event on April 16!

Klein Oak Theatre awards included:

• Top Technician: Sam Hinds
• All-Star Cast: Morgan Starr and Alec Michael Ryan
• Honorable Mention All-Star Cast: Alex Shrode, Danielle Gonzalez and Benton Burnett

Klein Oak awards included:

• Top Overall Crew: Cecilia Gonzalez, Emily Malo, Julie Mulkey, Sam Hinds, Alex Perkowski
• Top Technician: Cecilia Gonzales
• Honorable Mention All-Star Cast: Alex Shrode
• All-Star Cast: Morgan Starr and Alec Michael Ryan
• Best Actor: Ryne Nardecchia
• Best Actress: Danielle Gonzalez
• Advancing Shows: Klein Oak High School