Sixty-two high school students from across the country will take to the stage at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre's June 27 for the finals of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards. For the first time ever, the pre-show red carpet and awards presentation will be live streamed via Facebook Live.
The Facebook live stream, accessible at Facebook.com/NHSMTA, will be in two parts. The red carpet coverage will begin at 6 PM, hosted by 2015 Jimmy Award winner Marla Louissaint who will be interviewing the nominees in groups. Then, Sirius XM Radio’s Julie James will interview the panel of coaches, judges, and presenters. The broadcast time for the awards presentation will be announced on the NHSMTA Facebook.
The awards are named in honor of legendary Broadway producer/theatre owner James M. Nederlander. The event, which features more nominees than last year and boasts an “enhanced format,” is hosted by Zachary Levi, star of the Broadway revival of She Loves Me. Celebrity judges Eden Espinosa, Gavin Creel, Jose Llana, Michael McElroy, Howard McGillin and Karen Olivo will also be on hand to share their wisdom with the young finalists competing in the two-hour finale.
In 2015 the Broadway League Foundation took over the Jimmy Awards and continue to oversee programming. The event sees more than 50,000 students from over 1,000 high schools throughout the country compete for a chance to travel to Manhattan, where they are housed in the NYU dorms and given the opportunity to rehearse with theatre professionals in the lead up to the finals.
Here are the 2016 finalists who came out on top in 32 regional competitions.
| City & State | Theatre/Organization | Regional Awards Program | Best Actor Nominee | Best Actress Nominee |
| Albuquerque, NM | Popejoy Hall | Popejoy Awards | Devon McCleskey | Joliana Davidson |
| Atlanta, GA | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre | Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards | Will Davis | Shelbea Owen |
| Buffalo, NY | Shea's Performing Arts Center | The Kenny Awards | Joseph Russi | Rachel Kauderer |
| Charlotte, NC | Blumenthal Performing Arts | The Blumey Awards | Justin Rivers | Amina Faye |
| Chicago, IL | Broadway In Chicago | Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards | Jack Cahill-Lemme | Cecilia Trippiedi |
| Cleveland, OH | Playhouse Square | Playhouse Square Dazzle Awards | J.R. Heckman | Kate Klika |
| Dallas, TX | Dallas Summer Musicals | DSM High School Musical Theatre Awards | John Fredrickson | Kaiden Lynn Maines |
| Denver, CO | Denver Center for the Performing Arts | The Bobby G Awards | Curtis J. Salinger | Charlotte Movizzo |
| Des Moines, IA | Des Moines Performing Arts | Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards | Demarius Fisher | Poni Lejukole |
| Durham, NC | Durham Performing Arts Center | Triangle Rising Stars | Jacob Bush | Ainsley Seiger |
| East Lansing, MI | Wharton Center for Performing Arts | Sutton Foster Ovation Awards | Logan Dolence | Stacey Coleman |
| Houston, TX | Theatre Under The Stars | Tommy Tune Awards | Muhammad Yunus | Noelle Flores |
| Kansas City, MO | Starlight Theatre | Blue Star Awards | Lucas Lowry | Alison Ann Gillespie |
| San Antonio, TX | ACE Theatrical Group, LLC/Las Casas Foundation | Joci Awards | Travis Anderson | Madeline Barbara Burrow |
| La Mirada, CA | McCoy Rigby Entertainment | MACY Awards | Adrian Villegas | Amanda Dayhoff |
| Las Vegas, NV | The Smith Center for the Performing Arts | Nevada High School Musical Theater Awards | Deimoni Brewington | Mariah Martin |
| Logan, UT | MagicSpace/Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre | Utah High School Musical Theatre Awards | Angel Martinez | Hannah Romney |
| Los Angeles, CA | Hollywood Pantages/Nederlander | The Jerry Herman Awards | Josh Strobl | Emma Griffone |
| Madison, WI | Overture Center for the Arts | Tommy Awards | Travis Ulrich | Kailey Boyle |
| Memphis, TN | The Orpheum Theatre | The Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards | Spencer Germany | Grace Martin |
| New York, NY | Disney Theatrical Group/Camp Broadway | The Roger Rees Awards | Zander Pacella | Sophia Condon |
| Omaha, NE | Omaha Performing Arts | Nebraska High School Theatre Awards | Matthew Hakel | Lauren Johnson |
| Orlando, FL | Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts | Applause Awards | Tony Moreno | Emma Heistand |
| Pittsburgh, PA | Pittsburgh CLO | Gene Kelly Awards | Devin Moore | Marnie Quick |
| Rochester, NY | Rochester Broadway Theatre League | Stars of Tomorrow | Mark Mitrano | Abigail DeWitte |
| San Antonio, TX | ACE Theatrical Group, LLC/Las Casas Foundation | Joci Awards | Travis Anderson | Madeline Barbara Burrow |
| San Diego, CA | Broadway/San Diego - Nederlander | The San Diego Ben Vereen Awards | Cameron Chang | Jazley Genovese |
| San Jose, CA | Broadway San Jose | The Rita Moreno Awards | Frank Demma | Samantha Gorjanc |
| Seattle, WA | The 5th Avenue Theatre | The 5th Avenue Awards | Hayden Call | Brooke Moltrum |
| Tampa, FL | Straz Center for the Performing Arts | Broadway Star of the Future | Blake Lafita | Francesca Iacovacci |
| Tempe, AZ | ASU Gammage | ASU Gammage High School Theater Awards | Noah Andrew King | Holly Payne |
| Tucson, AZ | Broadway in Tucson | Southern Arizona Ben Vereen Awards | Daniel Rosenberg | Sarah Chico |
The Jimmy Awards aim to raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, recognize dedicated teachers and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts. Student performers qualify to compete in the national program by winning top honors at regional high school musical theatre awards competitions. Since its inception in 2009, the NHSMTA has enabled over $1,000,000 in university and conservatory scholarships to be awarded to talented students at the national and local level—several of whom have already been cast in Broadway, touring and West End productions.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting NHSMTA.com or Ticketmaster.com and range from $39-$89. Premium seats are $250.
