The National High School Musical Theatre celebration honors the best up-and-coming stage stars
Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Bowen Yang will host the 17th annual Jimmy Awards, celebrating top high school musical theater talent nationwide
- The event includes a 10-day Broadway-led intensive and awards scholarships to outstanding student performers
- Notable alumni like Reneé Rapp and Andrew Barth Feldman launched their careers after participating in the Jimmys
Bowen Yang is bringing his signature humor to the biggest celebration of rising musical theater talent.
The five-time Emmy-nominated comedian, actor, writer and podcast host will emcee the 17th annual Jimmy Awards on June 22 at the Minskoff Theatre, organizers have announced.
Known formally as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, the Jimmys — named for legendary Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander — celebrate outstanding student performers from across the country. Participants are selected through regional high school musical theater competitions.
This year's ceremony is expected to welcome 116 nominees, two each from 58 cities. They'll travel to New York City for a 10-day intensive featuring coaching, training sessions and rehearsals led by Broadway professionals before taking the stage for the nationally streamed showcase.
The Jimmys are known for their showstopping ensemble medleys, which pool best actor and best actress nominees together (and the characters they played) for an epic mashup. The annual performances frequently rack up hundreds of thousands of views online, with fans eagerly awaiting to see Jean Valjean singing with The Phantom, Tracey Turnblad trading bars with Elle Woods and Millie having a thoroughly modern time with Mary Poppins.
At the ceremony, a panel of judges will award scholarships and top honors, including Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress.
Credit: Henry McGee/NHSMTA
Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO, and Broadway Education Alliance (BEA) and presented by The Broadway League, the mission of the Jimmys is to advance a national conversation about the importance of arts education, honor teachers and their schools’ commitment to performing arts education, and contribute to the development of future arts workers and audiences for live performing arts in communities across America.
To date, more than $9 million in educational scholarships have been donated through the awards.
The event has also become a launching pad for future stars, with more than 90 alumni going on to perform on Broadway and in national tours. Notable names who have found fame after being discovered at the Jimmys include Reneé Rapp, Andrew Barth Feldman, Eva Noblezada, Ryan McCartan, Kyle Selig, Casey Likes, Justin Cooley, Jai'Len Christine-Li Josey, McKenzie Kurtz and Jasmine Amy Rogers.
Credit: Virginia Sherwood/NBCUniversal via Getty
Yang, 35, is best known for his seven-season run on NBC's Saturday Night Live, where he made history as the most Emmy-nominated Asian male performer ever. He currently co-hosts the hit podcast Las Culturistas alongside Matt Rogers and recently appeared in The Wedding Banquet and both Wicked films, as Pfannee.
His appointment comes during a busy stretch in his career. Along with continuing his work on Las Culturistas, he and Rogers recently announced the return of the Las Culturistas Culture Awards, which will air on Bravo and Peacock on June 17.
"Bowen's creativity, humor, and enthusiasm for the talent on the Jimmy Awards stage make him an ideal champion for this program," Jason Laks, president of The Broadway League, said in a statement. Laks added that Yang's career across television, film, podcasting and live entertainment reflects "the power of talent, authenticity, and originality."
The Jimmy Awards will stream free online beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on June 22 and will remain available for three days following the ceremony.
A limited number of tickets to the ceremony will be available through a digital lottery powered by Broadway Direct. The lottery is open now and closes at noon ET on June 10, with winners notified shortly afterward.
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