Hands on a Hard Body

WHERE: The Hobby Center for Performing Arts – Zilkha Hall (800 Bagby St., Houston, TX, 77002)

ABOUT: For 10 hard-luck Texans, a new lease on life is so close they can touch it. Under a scorching sun for days on end, armed with nothing but hope, humor and ambition, they’ll fight to keep at least one hand on a brand-new truck in order to win it. In the hilarious, hard-fought contest that is Hands on a Hardbody, only one winner can drive away with the American Dream.

- Based on the acclaimed 1997 documentary Hands On A Hardbody, a look at the annual hard-fought competition in Longview, TX

- Music by Phish's Trey Anastasio captures the heart of every character to the tune of blues, gospel, country and even a little honky-tonk

- The Hardbody: A full-size Nissan pick-up truck that moves by the sheer willpower and motivation of the 10 contestants

TUTS Underground's production of Hands On A Hardbody is made possible by the generosity of KPMG LLP and Hard Rock Cafe.

TUTS Underground Series Sponsors: United, The Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation, IKEA and TUTS' Leading Ladies.

TUTS Underground presents the Texas Premiere of HANDS ON A HARDBODY, a Texas story about the 1997 Longview Truck Competition. Presented at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts ZILKHA HALL located at 800 Bagby, Houston Texas 77002. Photo courtesy of TUTS Underground

Hands On A Hardbody
Contestants and Friends Announced!

(Houston) - Listen here y'all! TUTS Underground is presenting the Texas Premiere of Hands On A Hardbody, June 12-22, 2014 inside the real nice Zilkha Hall at The Hobby Center. Remember, this is based on a real life Texas story talking about real live Texas people, and because of that we are using as many real live Houston actors as possible.

Now that the house-keeping is out of the way, let me introduce the contestants and friends of this year's competition:

ANTHONY BOGGESS-GLOVER (Ronald) A graduate of Houston's High School For The Performing and Visual Arts. Attended University of Houston Downtown/Central Campuses and S.U.N.Y. Purchase in New York. Theatre: Houston Grand Opera, The Alley Theatre, The Great Caruso and The Ensemble Theatre. Favorite roles: The Wiz (Lion), Five Guys (Eat Moe), Aint Misbehavin’ (Andre/Ken), From My Hometown (Memphis).

KEVIN COONEY (J.D. Drew) TUTS: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, White Christmas, Guys and Dolls, Wonderful Life, 110 in the Shade, Anything Goes. A native Houstonian, Kevin starred here in Music Man, South Pacific, Sugar, Company, Little Me, 1776. Broadway debut: Best Little Whorehouse; national tours: Big River, Other People’s Money, M. Butterfly. Television/movie credits include Mad Men, Desperate Housewives, CSI, Without a Trace, Trip to Bountiful, Austin Powers, Primary Colors, Legally Blonde, Charlie Wilson’s War, 23 Blast.

JOHN RYAN DELBOSQUE (Jesus) Previously seen in LMPC the Off-Broadway Revival in NYC. Houston credits include: Panto Goldilocks/Little Red (Stages Theatre) Beauty and The Beast (HITS Theatre) SHSU: Hamlet, The Fantasticks, Into The Woods. Tommy Tune Best Leading Actor award winner, 2007.

TYCE GREEN (Chris) Off Broadway: Kissless (Spinks). Favorite credits: Spring Awakening (Moritz), Ragtime (Younger Brother), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (John C. Calhoun), The Sound of Music (Rolf), The Miser (Cléante), Little Women (Laurie), Forbidden Broadway (Various). Film: Horrible Turn (Prequel to Dr, Horrible w/ Neil Patrick Harris). When I was 16, I did my first TUTS show, Geppetto & Son.

SUSAN KOOZIN (Janis) Seen previously in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Hairspray, and The Sound of Music. Stages: Sexy Laundry, The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical (original cast recording), Always, Patsy Cline, Steel Magnolias, The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead, Grey Gardens, Black Pearl Sings, Nickel and Dimed, Bright Ideas, Dirty Blonde, Company. Classical Theatre Company: Ubu Roi. BCCM: One Touch of Venus, On The Town; Assassins.

JULIA KROHN (Heather) Original Las Vegas company of Jersey Boys (Lorraine). NYC credits: ABBA’s Kristina (pre-Broadway workshop), Joy (Off-Broadway); Regional: Beauty and the Beast (Belle), Mack and Mabel. TUTS: Anything Goes, Cats, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Camelot, Man of La Mancha, Spamalot, A Chorus Line, Elf; Alley Theatre: Sherlock Holmes, Christmas Carol, Toward Zero; Stages Repertory Theatre: Betty’s Summer Vacation (Betty). First Place both as a “Presidential Scholar in the Arts” and in the NFAA ARTS.

BETTY MARIE MUESSIG (Kelli) Is currently earning her BFA in Musical Theatre at Texas State University. She was last seen at TUTS in Les Misèrables, Cabaret, and 13! (Lucy). Other credits include: Anything Goes (Chastity), Somebody Called (Nina), Urinetown (Pennywise), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Mae).

THERESA NELSON (Virginia Drew) TUTS: Oliver, Can Can, Gypsy, Sound of Music, Wonderful Town, King and I, Man of La Mancha, Li’l Abner, Annie Get Your Gun, Company, Wonderful Life, Guys and Dolls. National Tour: Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Theresa has also written eight novels for young people, including The Year We Sailed the Sun, due from Simon & Schuster next spring. The wife of actor Kevin Cooney.

COLE RYDEN (Greg) Credits: Camelot (Squire Dap), Hairspray (Ensemble) and Man of La Mancha (Ensemble) with TUTS. The Pajama Game (Sid), Finian’s Rainbow (Woody) with BCCM, Stages’ Life Could Be A Dream (Swing), It’s Only Life (Gavin Track) with Main Street Theater, Smokey Joe’s Café (Michael) at Texas Rep, My Fair Lady (Freddy) with Masquerade Theatre.

DREW STARLIN (Benny) Credits include Footloose (Chuck Cranston) Broadway cast, Snakebit (Gary) Off-Broadway cast, and Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Elvis) Clarence Brown Theatre. Television credits include Law & Order, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NUMB3RS and Monk.

MICHAEL TAPLEY (Mike) TUTS: Kismet, Wonderful Town, The King and I, Carousel, Bye Bye Birdie, Gypsy, Chaplin, Oliver, 42nd Street, Pirates of Penzance, Grease, Scrooge, White Christmas, Man of La Mancha, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Phantom, West Side Story, A Chorus Line and Evita. Tours: First National 42nd Street, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (w/Debbie Reynolds), Mame, Evita and Show Boat for HGO in Cairo.

BROOKE WILSON (Cindy) Favorite credits: Urban Cowboy (Sissy), Whorehouse (Shy) at TUTS, Trailer Park Musical (Jeannie), Full Monty (Georgie), Rent (Maureen), Trailer Park Musical (Pippi), Evita (Eva cover), Whorehouse (Durla), The Water Coolers (Judy) (nat’l/inat’l tours), Honky Tonk Angels (Sue Ellen), Bat Boy (Maggie), Beauty And The Beast (Babette), Footloose (Ariel), When You Wish, Singing In The Rain, Cats, Beauty And The Beast at TUTS, The Miser and Forum.

BRAD ZIMMERMAN (Don) Houston credits include Next to Normal (Dan) and Young Frankenstein (Igor), both with SRO Productions, Myths and Hymns (Ensemble) and First Lady Suite (Ensemble) with Bit of a Stretch, Sherlock Holmes (Sid Prince) with AD Players, Hairspray (Wilbur) with Queensbury Theatre, and Cabaret (Herr Schultz) with Masquerade Theatre. Regionally, Brad performed two seasons with the Boston Lyric Opera and performed the role of Nitch in The Merry Widow with the Mississippi Opera.

The creative team, Texans too: director Bruce Lumpkin, choreographer Michelle Gaudette, musical director and conductor Jim Vukovich, lighting designer Christina Giannelli, sound designer Andrew Harper, assistant director Marley Wisnoski.

TUTS Underground's production of Hands On A Hardbody is made possible by the generosity of KPMG LLP and Hard Rock Cafe. TUTS Underground Series Sponsors: United, The Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation, IKEA and TUTS' Leading Ladies.

Tickets (starting at only $24) are available online at tutsunderground.com, by phone at (713) 558-TUTS (8887), outside the Houston area at (888) 558-3882, or in person at the Theatre Under The Stars Box Office, located at 800 Bagby at Walker, Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., and Saturday - Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Special offers are available for groups of 10 or more by calling (713) 558-8888 or via email at groupsales@tuts.com.

The Underground series is a new venture and legacy for TUTS, Houston’s premier nonprofit musical theatre company. Forged from the guidelines of “No revivals – No dead authors – No boundaries,” TUTS Underground features productions that are edgy, captivating and occasionally a bit risqué.

Tickets (starting at only $24) are available on-line at TUTS.com, by phone at (713) 558-TUTS (8887), outside the Houston area at (888) 558-3882, or in person at the Theatre Under The Stars Box Office, located at 800 Bagby at Walker, Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., and Saturday - Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. An audio described performance is available Sunday, May 18 at 2 p.m.; open captioning is available Sunday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. Hobby Center is wheelchair accessible. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Group tickets may be purchased by calling (713) 558-8888 or via email at groupsales@tuts.com.

TUTS’ presentation of EVITA is brought to Houstonians by the generosity of Ballard Exploration Company, Inc., Haynes and Boone, LLP, The Humphreys Foundation, Northwestern Mutual and Mr. & Mrs. Edward E. Hickam.

Theatre Under The Stars’ 2013-2014 season is generously sponsored by CHI St. Luke's Health. For all of TUTS’ shows, air transportation is provided by United Airlines, the official airline of TUTS. Media sponsors include ABC-13 and Houston Chronicle. Season support is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Theater District Association, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Theatre Under The Stars is Houston’s acclaimed nonprofit musical theatre company whose mission is to enrich life through the experience of quality musical theatre and to positively impact lives beyond the stage through innovative education and community engagement programs. TUTS performs annually in Sarofim Hall and Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center and at Miller Outdoor Theatre. TUTS was the first theatrical organization in Houston to perform free to the public when it was founded 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 theatre opened. Founded by Frank M. Young and currently under the direction of President and CEO John C. Breckenridge and Artistic Director Bruce Lumpkin, TUTS has produced more than 300 musicals including many local, national and world. Through its membership in the Independent Presenters Network, TUTS regularly financially contributes to shows on Broadway, which eventually allows the company to bring the shows to Houston for local audiences to enjoy.

In support of TUTS’ mission, TUTS’ Education & Community Engagement programs provide year-round instruction and stage experience. The Humphreys School of Musical Theatre offers technique-driven classes for all ability levels and ages. Through The River Performing and Visual Arts Center, TUTS provides an accessible and inclusive arts education for individuals of all abilities. TUTS Education & Community Engagement provides extended on-site programming as well as off-site programming for children in schools, hospitals and other community-based sites. TUTS also annually presents the Tommy Tune Awards, honoring the best and brightest in Houston's high school musical theatre programs.

Visit www.TUTSunderground.com for more information.

Texas Premiere – Texas Story
Hands On A Hardbody Is So Close You Can Almost Touch It!

Hands On A Hardbody
Contestants and Friends Announced!

Texas Premiere – Texas Story Hands On A Hardbody Is So Close You Can Almost Touch It!

Hands On A Hardbody Contestants and Friends Announced!

Texas Premiere – Texas Story
Hands On A Hardbody Is So Close You Can Almost Touch It!

Hands On A Hardbody
Contestants and Friends Announced!