The 7 PM ceremony includes presenters from the worlds of Broadway, film and television, including Obba Babatunde (Chicago), Shoshana Bean (Wicked), Kevin Chamberlin (The Addams Family), Sam Harris (The Producers), Kenny Ortega ("Newsies"), Cathy Rigby (Peter Pan), Tracie Thoms (Rent), Steven Weber (Loot) and Joseph Gatt ("God of War," "Thor," "Banshee").
The Jerry Herman Awards are dedicated to "recognizing, encouraging and rewarding achievements and excellence in high school musical theatre." It is the local award ceremony for The National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as "The Jimmy's," which take place annually at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre.
Every year two students are sent to New York to represent Los Angeles at The Jimmy's to participate in a week-long workshop and compete for the coveted Jimmy Award, named after the owner of the Pantages Theatre, James M. Nederlander.
High schools in Los Angeles County that have registered for the Jerry Herman Awards include Academy of Music at Hamilton High School, Notre Dame Academy, Hollywood High School, University High, Martin Luther King High, John Burroughs High, Charter Oak High, Ramon Cortines, Claremont High, Chaminade High, Santa Susanna High, Wilson High, Royal High, Arcadia High, Calabasas High, Miliken High, Valley Academy High, St, Francis High, Winward High, Canyon High, Palisades High, Mirman High, Oak Park High & Taft High. Much like the Tony Awards, each school's production will be judged and ranked on a series of pre-determined criteria.
The awards feature individual performance award categories including Featured Performer, Leading and Supporting Actor and Actress and Standout Performance. Overall production categories will include awards for best in scenic design, lighting design, costume design, orchestra, ensemble/chorus, crew and technical execution, choreography/musical staging, musical direction and the coveted Best Musical award. The Pantages Theatre is located at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard, just east of Vine Street. For more information and tickets, call (800) 982-2787 or visit JerryHermanAwards.com or HollywoodPantages.com.
