Tommy Tune’s Broadway Legacy Finds a Home at the University of Houston

There’s no business like show business, and for nearly half a century, nobody was as good at show business as Tommy Tune.

As the curtain was falling on Broadway’s Golden Age in the 1960s, the six-foot-six, toe-tapping Texan burst onto the scene and helped launch an electrifying new era of musical theater. He headlined, directed, choreographed and produced dozens of shows and performed thousands of times around the world. Among his many accolades, he won 10 Tony Awards — the second-most in history — the National Medal of Arts and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.wood Walk of Fame.

Various Tommy Tune performance posters.

Various Tommy Tune performance posters.

Now, Tune’s larger-than-life legacy is taking center stage at the University of Houston, thanks to a generous gift from Tune and his sister, Gracey: a remarkable new collection filled with thousands of costumes, scripts, set designs and drawings — a trove of showbiz treasures that will give students and scholars a front row seat to the artistry and imagination of a theatrical legend.

“The University of Houston felt like the natural home for it because it’s where my story truly began,” Tommy said. “This collection represents my life in musical theater, and I want it to inspire the next generation of artists in the city that first inspired me.”next generation of artists in the city that first inspired me.”

Black and white image of Tommy Tune and Sandy Duncan in tuxedos.

"My One and Only" performance poster featuring a young Tommy Tune and Sandy Duncan.

A Living History

Image of a Tommy Tune archival box found at the University of Houston library.

Black and white children-sized tap shoes with red laces.

Tommy Tune's childhood tap shoes.

Adult-sized shiny red tap shoe with sequins tips.

A pair of Tommy Tune's tap boots from an early Broadway production.

Tune, a Houston native, earned his M.F.A. at UH in 1964, and the ink was barely dry on his degree when he headed to New York and the bright lights of Broadway. He made his debut in the 1965 musical “Baker Street”, and the rest, as they say, was history.

Tune earned his first acting Tony in 1974 for “Seesaw” and his first directing Tony in 1982 for “Nine”. In 1983, he won Tony Awards for acting and choreography for “My One and Only”. Later, he became the only person in Tony Awards history to win the same categories in consecutive years, taking home best choreography and best directing in 1990 and 1991.

“You don’t win nine Tony Awards in so many facets of the craft — and a 10th for Lifetime Achievement — without shaping the era itself,” Gracey Tune said. “This collection covers every corner of his Broadway life, and many of his creations still live on stages around the world.”

From Tommy’s childhood taps to the last costumes he wore before retiring, Gracey says each item in the collection is part of a living history, not just of her brother, but of musical theater itself.

“Tommy approached every moment of his career with love and joy, whether he was casting a show, imagining sets with top designers or collaborating with the best lyricists, writers, composers and costumers. His legacy is one of pure creative excitement,” she said.

There’s No Place Like Home

For Tommy and Gracey, the decision to give the collection to UH was an easy one.

“The University of Houston has an energy and creative spirit that matches everything this collection represents.”
Tommy Tune

“We are thrilled that the University of Houston is the home for this collection,” Gracey said. “Their devotion, care and expertise in preserving a lifetime of Tommy’s work means the world to us, and our gratitude is endless.”

University Archivist Mary Manning, who worked closely with the Tunes to bring the collection to campus, couldn’t dream of a more perfect place for it.

“We are truly honored at UH Libraries to steward Tommy Tune’s legacy in the city and at the university that helped shape him,” Manning said. “This remarkable gift from Tommy and Gracey not only preserves his extraordinary impact on American theater but deepens our connection to his lasting legacy in Houston and at UH.”

The collection, which is kept in the archives on the second floor of the MD Anderson Library, arrived in two large shipments, each with dozens of boxes. Katy Allred, assistant university archivist, spent months processing each individual piece, evaluating its condition and deciding the best way to preserve it — more than 50,000 items in all, including costumes, dance shoes, scripts, production and choreography sheets, art work, photographs, scrapbooks, awards and honors, show programs and posters, CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes, and letters from friends, family, fans and castmates.

“The craftsmanship of the ‘Doctor Doolittle’ costumes is stunning — every detail is intentional, from dragonfly silk linings to butterfly brooches,” Allred said. “And as a lifelong theater nerd, it’s thrilling to see the behind-the-scenes Tony Awards materials and the step-by-step evolution of Broadway sets. The scope of artistry in this collection is incredible.”

Allred says it’s a unique and unprecedented snapshot of 70s, 80s and 90s Broadway.

“In terms of American theater history, this is a rare inside look at how productions get made — how casts come together and how sets evolve from dioramas to final construction, for example — and how Tommy collaborated with major figures like Carol Channing, Chita Rivera and Gene Kelly,” Allred said.

Small white cue card with a typed list of nominees next to the winner cue card.

Tony Award cue card announcing Tommy Tune's "Grand Hotel, The Musical" as the winner for "Best Direction of a Musical."

Image of a costume hat that features a bird on top.

Tommy Tune Collection at UH Libraries.

A Lasting Legacy

When the curtain rises on the collection at UH Libraries, so will countless opportunities for discovery.

“The University of Houston felt like the natural home for it because it’s where my story truly began.”
Tommy Tune

“This collection is a significant contribution to the study of theater history, particularly musical theater,” Manning said. “It will be invaluable to students, performers, filmmakers and researchers who want to explore Tune’s creative process, reconstruct productions or gain cultural context for the works he directed and performed in.”

For Gracey, the potential impact of the collection is personal and profound – a chance for others to step inside the dazzling world her brother built over a lifetime.

“This collection shows exactly what it takes to create a show — from the spark of an idea to the final curtain,” Gracey said. “Whether you’re a dancer, designer, actor or someone who simply loves Broadway, you will learn from what he’s left behind.”

And for Tommy, the gift is a full-circle moment — a way to give back to the city and university that first nurtured his imagination.

“The University of Houston has an energy and creative spirit that matches everything this collection represents,” Tommy said. “If my life’s journey can help even one young artist see a bigger future for themselves, it will be the perfect encore.”