Live from Jones Hall: Best of Broadway

Simone has appeared in several live and theatrical productions. You may have recently seen her opening the Houston Thanksgiving Day parade as well as TUTS’ productions of Elf, The Wiz, and Memphis to name just a few. Simone’s love for the stage has blessed her with the ability to travel the world with Royal Caribbean cruise lines and even tour with Todrick Hall! Currently, Simone is singing with The Drywater Band and you can look forward to seeing her soon as Deloris Van Cartier in TUTS’ production of Sister Act. A native of Arlington, TX, Simone has been in Houston for 6 years and couldn’t be happier. A special thank you to her family for always being not only her support but her peace, and to her TUTS family for always thinking of her and providing a safe place where artists can grow! Simone can be reached at @simonegundy on Instagram and @simonejasmine on Facebook.

Courtney Markowitz is thrilled to be making her Houston Symphony debut for such a special and much-needed event for the arts. Now a proud Houston native, Courtney made her Broadway debut in Jekyll & Hyde alongside Constantine Maroulis and Deborah Cox. She also appeared in National Touring productions of Jekyll & Hyde, Spring Awakening, and Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway. Previously in Houston, she starred as “Mother” in the award-winning production of Ragtime at Theatre Under the Stars. Other favorite TUTS shows include Mary Poppins, Into the Woods, Bonnie & Clyde, and Lizzie–the Musical. This holiday season, she was seen as Doris Walker in Miracle on 34th Street at Stages. As a vocalist, Courtney has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony POPS, Wheeling Symphony, and as a National Anthem soloist for the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates. She holds a BFA in Music Theatre from Elon University and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. A huge thank you to Houston Symphony and Theatre Under the Stars for bringing the arts back to all of us.

Noah J. Ricketts is an actor and singer originally from Louisville, KY. He’s enjoyed roles on Broadway in Beautiful, the Carole King Musical and most recently Kristoff in Frozen, on Broadway. In addition to theatre, Noah has played roles on television and film,
such as Kai in American Gods on STARZ; River in High Fidelity on Hulu; and Nico in The Sixth Borough. He believes that the next generation of young artists will save us, so he spends his down time teaching students private acting, singing, and audition technique with Online Arts Advancement NYC. He recently established the #theaterincolor challenge to promote change in the theatre and to properly diversify the experiences of theatregoers everywhere. You can check him out on Instagram @noah_jrkts.

Nick Szoeke is over the moon excited to join the Houston Symphony and Theatre Under The Stars in this beautiful concert! Nick has been seen around the US in regional houses such as Theatre Under The Stars (TX), The Public Theatre (TX), The Playhouse San Antonio (TX), Queensbury Theatre (TX), Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre (ID), and The Trinity Repertory Company (RI). Favorite credits include Curly in Oklahoma!, Robert Kincaid in The Bridges of Madison County, and Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. You can also hear Nick on the upcoming release of the original cast recording of Sole Mates: The Musical set to debut in September. Nick is a diehard FRIENDS fan who never turns down a snow cone. A huge thank you to my family for believing in and supporting me on this journey. Insta:@hokeypokeyszoeke; www.nickszoeke.com.

Sean Holshouser is a 21-year-old baritone from Houston, TX. An undergraduate student at University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, Sean has already performed with the likes of TUTS’ Humphreys School of Musical Theatre, the Houston Grand Opera, HITS Theatre, the Houston Symphony and the Grand Teton Music Festival in major performances as a soloist. The first-place $3,000 winner in the Houston Grand Opera’s High School Voice Studio in May of 2019, Sean has also performed in over 30 productions at Houston’s HITS Theatre (including 3 starring roles at Miller Outdoor Theatre). Musical theatre roles include Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, The Baker in Into the Woods, Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre, Bobby Child in Crazy for You, Rev. Shaw Moore in Footloose, Ebenezer Scrooge in Scrooge, Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd and Lord Farquaad in Shrek: The Musical; for the latter two of these, he received BroadwayWorld Award nominations in 2018 for Best Leading Actor and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, respectively. He performed the National Anthem at the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer College Cup Tournament in 2016, and similarly performed the Anthem at the start of the Houston Symphony’s 2017 “Star Spangled Salute” concert. He was an auditioned member of the St. Paul’s Choral Scholars and was the youngest auditioned member of the Houston Symphony Chorus, of which he is a 5-year member. His vocal YouTube channel currently has over 2.7 thousand subscribers, with his performance of “In Dreams” having over 200,000 views.

Alyssa Sunew is a 17-year-old student at TUTS’ Humphreys School of Musical Theatre and a senior at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, TX. She was the only student from Texas to be named a 2020 Finalist in Theater from the National YoungArts Foundation. As a musical theatre performer, Alyssa has performed in numerous professional and community productions with Theatre Under The Stars (Jerome Robbins Broadway, Spring Awakening, Oklahoma!, Memphis), the MUNY in St. Louis (Footloose), and HITS Theatre in Houston (Anything Goes, Side Show). She is a 2-year member of TMEA Texas All-State Choir, and studies voice and piano with Jeannine Rowden.