Presenters, coaches, and judges for the 16th annual National High School Musical Theatre Awards, fondly referred to as the Jimmy Awards, have been revealed. Broadway favorite Josh Groban (Sweeney Todd) will host the upcoming event, which recognizes the best in U.S. high school theatre actors. The ceremony is set for June 23 at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre.
The evening's special guest presenters will include Julia Knitel, Apollo Levine, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Aki Nishino, and Jasmine Amy Rogers.
Coaching this year's nominees (see the list of nominees here) will be Jenni Barber, Lisa Brescia, Janet Dacal, Colin Hanlon, Lily Kaufmann, Adam J. Levy, Julia Murney, Desi Oakley, Eliseo Rom谩n, Q. Smith, Steven Telsey, and EJ Zimmerman. The judging panel, which will select finalists and winners, will comprise Montego Glover, LaChanze, Joe Machota, Alecia Parker, Marc Platt, Tara Rubin, Nick Scandalios, Bernard Telsey, and Lia Vollack. Preliminary judges included Kristian Charbonier, Stephanie Klapper, Sammy Lopez, Kevin Metzger-Timson, Dale Mott, Cody Renard Richard, and Rachel Sussman.
The event will also live stream for free online beginning at 7:30 PM ET June 23 on 半岛体育 (refresh if the video is not visible above). The ceremony will remain available online for three days afterwards, through June 26.
The ceremony, highlighting the best of high school musical theatre talent, will feature nominees from over 50 regions across the U.S. 110 nominees from 55 regional awards programs will make their Broadway debuts that night. To date, more than 1,000 student nominees have participated in the program. The evening will feature ensemble and solo performances and will conclude with two students presented with the awards for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress.
READ: 15 Jimmy Award Alums Who Are Now Theatre Favorites
Presented by The Broadway League Foundation Inc., the NHSMTA invites two nominees from each local regional ceremony to New York City for a 10-day theatre intensive that includes coaching sessions, training, and rehearsals led by some of Broadway鈥檚 most accomplished professionals, all leading to the Jimmy Awards.
Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO, and Broadway Education Alliance, the mission of the NHSMTA is to raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, honor dedicated teachers, and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts. Named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, the program has been the catalyst for more than $6,000,000 in educational scholarships.
