THEATRE UNDER THE STARS  
www.tuts.com

TUTS' ANNUAL GALA

APRIL 25, 2008

AT THE HOBBY CENTER

Margaret Williams and Jim Daniel at the TUTS "TOP 40" GALA April 25th, 2008 TUTS' Annual Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by PWL Studio.

THEATRE UNDER THE STARS
 

TUTS' GALA TOPS THE CHARTS

Gala Chairs……………….Carrie and Ron Woliver

Honorary Chair…………...Margaret Alkek Williams

Underwriting Chairs………Helen & Jim Shaffer, Sharon and Shahid Ullah

And the TUTS Gala Host Committee

Jan Duncan and Dan Duncan at the TUTS "TOP 40" GALA April 25th, 2008 TUTS' Annual Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by PWL Studio.

Houston, Texas…..Theatre Under The Stars’ 40^th Anniversary Gala celebration, “TUTS TOP 40”, raised more than $620,000 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts on Friday April 25^th, 2008.  Chaired by Carrie and Ron Woliver, the evening featured a tribute to TUTS’ and Broadway Top 40 Hits, which included a performance by the original “Annie” on Broadway in 1977, Andrea McArdle, and TUTS’ best and brightest young actors and actresses from the renowned Tommy Tune Awards and Humphreys School of Musical Theatre.

Ron Woliver, Carrie Woliver, Christi Bennett and J. P. Bennett at the TUTS "TOP 40" GALA April 25th, 2008 TUTS' Annual Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by PWL Studio.

In addition to the 450 guests in attendance, Honorary Chair, Margaret Alkek Williams was on hand to lend her support along with Underwriting Chairs, Helen & Jim Shaffer and Sharon & Shahid Ullah.  Top underwriters of this sparkling event that benefited TUTS’ education and community outreach programs were the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation, Continental Airlines, Hercules Offshore, Inc. and the John P. McGovern Foundation.

 
Ericka Bagwell and Jeff Bagwell at the TUTS "TOP 40" GALA April 25th, 2008 TUTS' Annual Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by PWL Studio.

Leticia Trauber and Marsha Taylor took the stage to promote the silent auction which included lunch and a golf excursion with Jeff Bagwell at Lochinvar and a raffle for a 40^th Anniversary Ruby necklace valued at $19,500 donated by Donoho’s Jewelers.  The silent auction also featured such fine items as trips to a choice of five Ritz-Carlton Club destinations, New Year’s Eve in Lake Tahoe, and the Festival of New Musicals in New York City.  A commemorative TUTS TOP 40 quilt that was designed and created by member of the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston and featured 40 playbill covers from TUTS most popular productions since 1968 was up for bid as well.

Richard Mithoff and Ginny Mithoff at the TUTS "TOP 40" GALA April 25th, 2008 TUTS' Annual Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by PWL Studio.

Following the performance, guests arrived at their table to find a 40^th Anniversary compilation CD generously underwritten by Bob’s Steak and Chop House.  Fifteen disco balls hung from the ceiling in the Hobby Center’s Grand Lobby while guests such as Ericka and Jeff Bagwell, Jan and Dan Duncan, Minday and Jeff Hildebrand, Lucinda and Javier Loya, Lisa and Michael Holthouse and Randa Duncan Williams and Charles Williams enjoyed a delicious dinner catered by City Kitchen, alongside music by Yvoonne Washington and The Mix. 

Lisa Holthouse and Michael Holthouse at the TUTS "TOP 40" GALA April 25th, 2008 TUTS' Annual Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by PWL Studio.

Founded in 1968, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is Houston’s acclaimed non-profit musical theatre company and is currently under the direction of President and CEO John C. Breckenridge.  Dedicated to producing new works and classic masterpieces, the 2007 – 2008 Dream of a Season celebrates TUTS 40^th Anniversary Season.  The upcoming 2008-2009 season called “Wow! What a Season!” will celebrate TUTS’ 41st Season of bringing world-class musical theatre to Houston audiences.  TUTS was the first theatrical organization in Houston to perform free to the public in 1968 at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park, and is the only Houston arts organization that has performed there free to the public every year since the building opened.  Since its founding by Frank M. Young, TUTS has produced more than 300 musicals including many local, national and world premieres such as Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, as well as International tours including Debbie Reynolds in The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Juliet Prowse in Mame, Robert Goulet in Man of La Mancha, the Tony Award-winning revival of Carousel and the Deaf West Theatre production of Big River.  As a way to continue the tradition of musical theatre, TUTS’ Humphreys School of Musical Theatre provides instruction and stage experience for more than 1,700 students annually through both The Academy and The Studio, which allow students to flourish in a year-round schedule of classes.   Housed in the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, TUTS also annually presents the Tommy Tune Awards, honoring the best and brightest in Houston’s high school musical theatre programs.

Randa Duncan Williams and Charles Williams at the TUTS "TOP 40" GALA April 25th, 2008 TUTS' Annual Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by PWL Studio.

Jeff Hildebrand and Mindy Hildebrand at the TUTS "TOP 40" GALA April 25th, 2008 TUTS' Annual Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by PWL Studio.

Lucinda Loya and Javier Loya at the TUTS "TOP 40" GALA April 25th, 2008 TUTS' Annual Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by PWL Studio.

Lexi Trauber and Leticia Trauber at the TUTS "TOP 40" GALA April 25th, 2008 TUTS' Annual Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by PWL Studio.