Broadway at The National is delighted to announce the finalists for the Fifth Annual Brandon Victor Dixon Awards. The Brandon Victor Dixon Awards highlights excellence in high school musical theater and is a proud Regional Awards Program of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA), also known as The Jimmy Awards. The regional awards program is named in honor of Brandon Victor Dixon, a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award nominee originally from Gaithersburg, Maryland.
As an official Regional Awards Program, The National Theatre’s Brandon Victor Dixon Awards will feed directly into the national NHSMTA celebration, when the top two winners from the 2025-2026 BVD Awards season will be invited to compete at the 2026 Jimmy Awards in New York City. The national awards are a celebration of outstanding student achievement, recognizing individual artistry in vocal, dance, and acting performance and elevating the importance of theater arts education in schools.
The finalists have been chosen from 25 participating schools and are as follows:
FINALISTS FOR BEST ACTOR
Kamdi Aghazu OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL HIGH SCHOOL: IN THE HEIGHTS
Liam Birch SOUTH LAKES HIGH SCHOOL: 9 TO 5
Silas Blocker WOODSON HIGH SCHOOL: SWEENEY TODD
Aiden Brennan WOODSON HIGH SCHOOL: SWEENEY TODD
Tristan Farmer FAIRFAX HIGH SCHOOL: SOMETHING ROTTEN!
Zayn Gruyters WALT WHITMAN HIGH SCHOOL: THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD
Aaron Guerrero HAYFIELD SECONDARY SCHOOL: R&H’S CINDERELLA
Bee Kotler CHARLES E. SMITH JEWISH DAY SCHOOL: 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
John Poncy FAIRFAX ACADEMY FOR COMMUNICATION AND THE ARTS: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
Ryan Robbins WALT WHITMAN HIGH SCHOOL: THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD
Nate Wheeler Smith FAIRFAX HIGH SCHOOL: SOMETHING ROTTEN!
Alex Valencic MCLEAN HIGH SCHOOL: HIGH FIDELITY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION
FINALISTS FOR BEST ACTRESS
Meera Ayyar OAKTON HIGH SCHOOL: ANYTHING GOES
Allie Blanchet FAIRFAX ACADEMY FOR COMMUNICATION AND THE ARTS: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
Ryan Coffey WEST SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL: MAMMA MIA!
Savannah Day OAKTON HIGH SCHOOL: ANYTHING GOES
Julianna Esen FALLS CHURCH HIGH SCHOOL: BETWEEN THE LINES
Leah Graham FAIRFAX ACADEMY FOR COMMUNICATION AND THE ARTS: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
Julie Gurrola WOODSON HIGH SCHOOL: SWEENEY TODD
Elsa Harlor OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL HIGH SCHOOL: IN THE HEIGHTS
Nicoletta Pelekasis THOMAS EDISON HIGH SCHOOL: CHICAGO: TEEN EDITION
Lua Songer-Johnson SOUTH LAKES HIGH SCHOOL: 9 TO 5
Ellie Whitfield FALLS CHURCH HIGH SCHOOL: BETWEEN THE LINES
Tsenat Zenebe HAYFIELD SECONDARY SCHOOL: R&H’S CINDERELLA
NOMINATIONS FOR BEST MUSICAL
FAIRFAX ACADEMY FOR COMMUNICATION AND THE ARTS: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
OAKTON HIGH SCHOOL: ANYTHING GOES
OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL HIGH SCHOOL: IN THE HEIGHTS
WEST SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL: MAMMA MIA!
WOODSON HIGH SCHOOL: SWEENEY TODD
AWARDS DATE AND TICKETS
May 30, 2026
Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at The National Theatre on the day of the performance. Doors will open at 6pm and the show will begin at 7pm. RSVP at BrandonVictorDixonAwards.com. RSVP is recommended for this general admission event.
LOCATION
The National Theatre is located at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in downtown Washington, DC. Nearby metro stops include Metro Center and Federal Triangle. For parking information and further directions, please visit BroadwayAtTheNational.com.
ABOUT THE BRANDON VICTOR DIXON AWARDS
The Brandon Victor Dixon (BVD) Awards celebrates, recognizes and encourages high school musical theater talents and achievements across the DMV area (Washington, DC; Maryland; and Virginia) that surrounds The National Theatre. This program highlights the importance of arts education in our communities. As a regional awards program of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA), also known as The Jimmy Awards, The Brandon Victor Dixon Awards helps celebrate individual artistry in performance on a national level.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL THEATRE
Located on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, The National Theatre opened in 1835 and is the nation’s oldest venue still presenting touring Broadway.
Nederlander manages and programs the theater, including the Broadway at The National series. The name “Nederlander” has been synonymous with great entertainment since 1912. Led by James L. Nederlander, President, Nederlander continues the tradition of operating historic theaters, as well as producing and presenting the best in theatrical entertainment and concert events.
