Last night, June 28, the 2nd Annual Jimmy Awards were held at the Marquis Theatre, home to COME FLY AWAY. Kathie Lee Gifford hosted and presenters included nine time Tony-winner Tommy Tune, Hunter Ryan Herdlicka of A Little Night Music, and Krysta Rodriguez and Adam Riegler of The Addams Family. BroadwayWorld was on hand to capture the celebration.
Forty-four talented high schoolers participated in a full week of workshops, private voice lessons, and interviews with industry professionals at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Each of them representing their regional high school theatre awards, they all congregated in New York to compete for the National High School Musical Theater Awards, dubbed The Jimmys for theatre legend James M. Nederlander, Chairman of the Nederlander Organization.
Last night, after performing for a panel of star judges, including Tony-nominee and Memphis star Montego Glover, casting director Bernie Telsey, Broadway director Scott Ellis and others, two participants received the Jimmy for Best Actor and Best Actress.
Winning for Best Actor was Kyle Selig from Long Beach, CA. Kyle attends Huntington Beach High School and represented the Footlighers Scholarship Awards, which he won for his performance as Don Lockwood in Singin' in the Rain. Alexandria Payne from Atlanta Georgia took home the Jimmy for Best Actress. Alexandria comes from Tri-Cities High School and represented the Shuler Hensley Awards for Excellence, which she was awarded for her performance as Ti Moune in Once on This Island. Both Kyle and Alexandria were award a $10,000 scholarship towards their future education from the Nederlander Organization.
Three other awards were presented to participants: Sarah Shultz won for Best Performance in an Ensemble, Arsalan Akhavan was award the Most Improved Award, and Claire Gerig was given the Spirit of the Jimmys Award. Each student received a $2,500 scholarship toward their future education.
For more information on the National High School Musical Theater Awards, visit http://www.nhsmta.com/.
Photo Credit: Monica Simoes
