At the Jimmy Awards 56 high school students from across America competed for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress awards at the 6th annual presentation.
Click here to view the 2014 Jimmy Awards nominees.
Student performers are qualified to compete in the national program by winning top honors at 28 regional high school musical awards competitions presented by Broadway League member performing arts centers. Over 1,500 high schools and 60,000 students participate in these annual events.
High school students from New Jersey are this year's official Jimmy Awards bloggers. 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.
NHSMTA finalists prepare for their Broadway debut during a five-day professional training intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts' New Studio on Broadway faculty members Andréa Burns, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Adam Kantor, Julia Murney and Anthony Rapp plus other theatre professionals.
Winners are selected by a panel of industry experts including Scott Ellis (Tony Award-nominated director); Kent Gash (New Studio on Broadway, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama); Rachel Hoffman (Telsey + Company); Arielle Tepper Madover (Tony Award-winning producer); Tara Rubin (Tara Rubin Casting); and Nick Scandalios (Nederlander Organization).
Founded in 2009, NHSMTA's mission is to "raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, recognize dedicated teachers and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts."
Also known as The Jimmy Awards in honor of legendary Broadway producer/theatre owner James M. Nederlander, the NHSMTA is produced by the Broadway Education Alliance and supported by many leading theatre industry organizations including The Broadway League, BWF (Weissler) Foundation, Disney Theatrical Productions, Jujamcyn Theatres, Music Theatre International, Nederlander Organization, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Pittsburgh CLO, Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, Samuel French Library, Shubert Organization, Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc., Ticketmaster and others.