North Shore Music Theatre is pleased to announce that it will join 15 other professional theater organizations from 11 states participating in the first annual presentation of The Jimmy Awards, to be held in New York City on Monday, June 29 at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, New York University. The National High School Musical Theater Awards, founded and produced by Nederlander Presentations, Inc. and Pittsburgh CLO, is a national celebration of outstanding student achievement that recognizes individual artistry in vocal, dance and acting performances by high school students. "The Jimmy Award" is named in honor of James M. Nederlander, legendary Broadway theater owner and producer.
To participate in the National High School Musical Theater Awards, professional theaters are required to be a member of The Broadway League, the National Alliance of Musical Theater or the Theatre Communications Group. Each organization agrees to sponsor two student representatives, namely their local winners of the "Best Performance by an Actress" and "Best Performance by an Actor" category, in the national competition in New York City. North Shore Music Theatre's 4th annual Spotlight Awards will be held on Tuesday, June 2nd.
"The response from the professional theater community and high school educators everywhere to this national award for student performers has been overwhelmingly positive," says Van Kaplan, Pittsburgh CLO Executive Producer and the event's producer. "We are delighted that all the major theaters are participating in this inaugural event. This recognition of amateur talent by the professional theater industry has already inspired many other theaters to implement a local awards program. We are confident that this program will grow every year."
Two grand-prize winners will be selected by a panel of experts following five days of musical theater rehearsals, master classes, private coaching and interviews with theater professionals. Based on their skill level and professional goals, students are eligible for college scholarships, professional internships, career coaching and opportunities for auditions. The panel of judges and a complete list of prizes will be announced in the coming weeks.
The following theater organizations will be featured in the 2009 national celebration in New York. They are listed in order of their local awards ceremony performance date.
Organization City, State Awards Program Date
Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Atlanta, GA Shuler Hensley Award for Excellence April 14
Theatre Under The Stars Houston, TX Tommy Tune Awards April 21
The Old Globe San Diego, CA Globe Honors April 25
McCoy Rigby La Mirada, CA MACY Awards May 17
Hershey Theatre Hershey, PA Apollo Awards May 18
North Carolina Theatre Raleigh, NC North Carolina Theatre Capital Awards May 18
Casa Manana Fort Worth, TX Betty Buckley Awards May 21
Kansas City Starlight Theatre Kansas City, MO Blue Star Awards May 21
Musical Theatre of Wichita Wichita, KS The Jester Awards May 21
Rochester Broadway Theatre League Rochester, NY Stars of Tomorrow Awards May 21
The Spirit of Broadway Theater Norwich, CT The Connecticut High School
Music Theater Awards May 21
Pittsburgh CLO Pittsburgh, PA Gene Kelly Awards May 24
