John Cooper’s ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ receives eight Tommy Tune Nominations

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The cast, crew and directors of The John Cooper School’s November 2014 production of “Little Shop of Horrors” has received eight nominations from the Tommy Tune Awards, a Houston-based awards program that recognizes excellence in high school musical theater. Cooper’s production of the science fiction musical has been nominated in the categories of Best Ensemble/Chorus, Best Direction (Joseph DeMonico), Best Stage Crew and Technical Execution (Marcus Bridgewater), Best Choreography, Best Musical Direction (Rae Moses), Best Supporting Actress (Natalie Holley/Celeste Terni/Muna Uzodike), Best Costume Design (Laura Targett) and Best Scenic Design.

The show’s director, Cooper Performing Arts Chair Joseph DeMonico, said he is extremely proud of the entire cast for being nominated for Best Ensemble/Chorus; a nomination that he says speaks most about the teamwork and cohesiveness of this cast and crew. “In true ensemble spirit, everybody rose to the challenge and created a really great show,” he said. He is also pleased that Tommy Tune Awards recognized the doo-wop trio in the best supporting actress category and that the scenic design, stage crew and technical execution was nominated. Cooper’s tech crew, under the direction of Marcus Bridgewater, was the largest to date.

The formal Tommy Tune Awards Ceremony will be held at The Hobby Center in Houston on April 21. Cooper's next Upper School drama production will be "The Man Who Came to Dinner" in the Black Box Theater of the school’s Performing Arts Center, April 24-26, to be held in conjunction with the school’s Fine Arts Festival on April 25 that is a celebration of visual and performing arts. For more information go to www.johncooper.org.