Broadway celebrates the next generation of musical theater artists with the 2018 Jimmy® Awards on Monday, June 25, at the Minskoff Theatre. Recognizing talented high-school students and teachers from participating theater programs across the country, this year’s ceremony, presented by The Broadway League Foundation (with support from Wells Fargo and the 2017 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Dear Evan Hansen), marks the tenth anniversary of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, named in honor of legendary Broadway producer and theater-owner James M. Nederlander.
Hosted by Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti (who began her own Broadway career at the age of eighteen), the sold-out event, which will be live-streamed in its entirety on Facebook beginning at 7:30 pm, will showcase solo and ensemble performances by a record 80 students from 40 regional programs, with nominees competing for the coveted grand prizes of Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress. Winners will be selected live that night by a panel of industry experts. In addition, two Inspiring Teacher Awards, sponsored by Wells Fargo, will be presented to Janine Papin of Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, Florida, and Nadine Love from William R. Boone High School, Orlando, Florida, whose students took home the top honors in 2017.
The nominees’ debut on the Broadway stage follows nine days of intensive professional training with faculty members from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ New Studio on Broadway and other accomplished theater professionals. Students’ eligibility is based on their having already won regional high-school competitions for musical-theater awards, presented by performing arts centers (comprising more than 1,500 high schools and 100,000 students) that are active members of the Broadway League.
Along with Benanti, current Broadway stars Ari’el Stachel (a graduate of NYU and recipient of the 2018 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role in The Band’s Visit) and Nathan Salstone (making his Broadway debut in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), previous Jimmy® Award-winners Kyle Selig (now in Mean Girls) and Jai’Len Christine Li Josey (premiering on Broadway in SpongeBob SquarePants), and the Disney Channel’s Cozi Zuehlsdorff and Heidi Blickenstaff (an acclaimed Broadway veteran) are also slated to appear as presenters.
If you weren’t fortunate enough to score a ticket to the event, be sure to log-in on Monday to see the impressive line-up of emerging young talents and future musical-theater luminaries, who are sure to convince you that Broadway continues to have a bright future ahead!
Running Time: Approximately two hours and 45 minutes.
The Jimmy® Awards are presented on Monday, June 25, 2018, at the Minskoff Theater – 200 West 45th Street, New York City. Tickets are sold out, but you can watch the show live on Facebook.
