A billboard showcasing some of this year's nominees for the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, better known as the Jimmy Awards.
José A. Alvarado Jr. for NPR
Happy Sunday,
It was a busy week education-wise in the courts – in Louisiana and in D.C. Along with minor movement on the Harvard front. We also talked to some graduating seniors on the state of higher education. Yes, with yet another big week, we needed something to keep our spirits up here at NPR Ed was a seasonal favorite: The Jimmy Awards.
This is Sequoia, I’m one of the reporters on the team and, I’ll say it, a former theatre kid. Every year I watch the Jimmy Awards (yes, I watched back in 2018 when Renee Rapp and Andrew Barth Feldman won in the SAME year) and every year I think … man we should cover this.
Well, somehow amidst all the news, this year we made it happen. I met with some of the 110 nominees for best high school musical actor and actress as they rehearsed their medleys and got ready for their one night on Broadway.
For the uninitiated, the Jimmy Awards (or the National High School Musical Theatre Awards) take place every year in New York City, and the event draws students from around the country to put on a show in just 10 days.
"It's hard," says Hayden Poe, nominated for his performance as Hermes in Dalton (Ga.) High School's production of Hadestown: Teen Edition. "We work our voices and we work our bodies, but the kindness and the love and the friendship gets us through."
The competition starts with about 150,000 students from schools across the nation. After regional competitions, a select few make it to New York to perform in the awards show at the Minskoff Theatre.
The top two awards of the night – best actor and best actress in a musical – are named after Broadway legend Jimmy Nederlander. For the past 16 years students have competed for the chance to bring home a Jimmy of their own.
For a little over a week, the students rehearse at The Juilliard School in preparation. Jayden Vega, a rising senior from Tampa, Fla., nominated for his leading role in Urinetown, says the schedule is grueling.
"We have breakfast at 7:30, our first rehearsal starts at 8:30 and we end at 8:30 [p.m.], and from then we meet with our pods – like our little family for this week," he says. "We're working long days, but it's so worth it."
I first caught up with them in Times Square where they took a break from rehearsals and caught a glimpse of their faces up in lights. A huge billboard in Times Square celebrated their accomplishment.
"It's such a dream," said Vega, getting emotional. "I'm so happy to experience it with the people around me."
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The Jimmy Award nominees cheered for a group photograph.
José A. Alvarado Jr. for NPR
Several shows on Broadway right now have at least one former Jimmy nominee in the cast. Jasmine Amy Rogers and Julia Knitel, both former nominees, were up for Tony Awards this year. Two-time Tony nominee Eva Noblezada is starring in Cabaret. Singer Renee Rapp is another distinguished alum.
Watching what the students do after their time at the Jimmys is the best part of her job, says Rachel Reiner, the program's executive director: "It is such an honor to be a part of their journey and to see them grow and develop in the week that they're with us, and then launch their careers."
Josh Groban hosted this year's ceremony and Fabiola Caraballo Quijada from Dallas and Chris Hayes of Las Vegas, Nev., won the big awards of the night. You can watch their winning numbers and all the performances from the evening on the Jimmy Awards YouTube channel.
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