Interview: 2016 National High School Musical Theatre Award Winner, Josh Strobl!

In the midst of summer fun, most high school graduates look forward to relaxation and recreation before embarking on a new collegiate journey. For 2016 Jimmy Award Winner Josh Strobl, the summer has been one of new opportunities and wowing judges on a Broadway stage. On June 27 at the Minskoff Theatre, months of training and competition paid off for the lucky soloist. As summer settles and college move-in draws near, I had a chance to sit down with America's newest theatrical star to discuss the onstage (and backstage) scoop, the journey it took to win the Jimmy Awards, and what the future looks like for such a promising young performer.

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Josh, congrats on the big win! When did you know you wanted to pursue theatre as a career, if that's the plan?

Yes, I first got into musical theatre seriously during my junior year of high school after performing in my high school's cabaret show, Burroughs on Broadway (at John Burroughs High School, Burbank, CA). I sang a solo called "Goodbye" from Catch Me If You Can, and it was after that, when I was talking to the audience, that they actually gave me the idea to pursue musical theatre. So, I tried out for a summer camp at the University of Michigan called MPulse and was there for three weeks. That's when I really started getting into musical theatre.

What is your dream role? If you had to play one part in any show, who would you want to be?

Probably Tony in West Side Story.

Ooh, that's a good answer.

Maria is the song I usually do everywhere, it's the song I competed with at the Jimmys!

Amazing choice! What was the most positive facet of performing in the Jerry Herman Awards and the The Jimmy Awards, and then proceeding to win everything?

Getting to meet all the people was pretty cool. A few of them I had met doing college auditions and camps, but a lot of the people performing were new. I had no idea how high the level of talent in the U.S. is. You really don't know that until you're in one place with all of these people representing different states. That was the most amazing thing to me.

How fun! Did you see any shows while you were spending time on Broadway?

I did!

What was your favorite show that you saw while you were in the city?

Hamilton!

Oh, you saw HAMILTON?! You're so lucky! Was it everything?

It was everything and more, yes! It was so good, you have no idea. I just saw Something Rotten!, too!

Both are such good shows. Who are your biggest inspirations?

In musical theatre? Definitely Jeremy Jordan- a God amongst men.

AMEN. Agreed.

He's great, Gavin Creel, too! I just saw the She Loves Me livestream on BroadwayHD, which was so good. Speaking of that, Zachary Levi was the host of the Jimmy Awards! I got to talk to him after, he's really nice.

He's incredible! Who else was in the audience at the Jimmys? Who were some of your favorite people that you got to meet?

Well, someone that really caught me off guard... We were getting to the Minskoff, which was where we performed. It was really cool getting to see all the Lion King stuff and everything, and then we got into our dressing rooms. It was probably about an hour before the show started, and while we were getting ready, they called us all onto the stage saying that they had a surprise for us. When we got up there, the surprise was Andrew Lloyd Webber. He talked to us for a little while. It was unbelievable. The president of Actors Equity was there, the president of the Broadway League was there, too. For the Jerry Herman Awards, which was my regional competition, I performed at the Pantages. I didn't realize who was there until I was performing my solo in the finals, and I looked out into the audience, which I usually don't do because I can't see the audience. This time, I could see the first three rows, and front and center was J.J. Abrams. I got a bit starstruck there.

As one would! So, during the Jimmy Awards, what did you gain as a whole from the experience literally and figuratively?

Literally, I walked away with a $10,000 scholarship to a school of my choice. Additionally, winners were offered a full ride to NYU Tisch, which was great, but I had already chosen Michigan. I got $1,000 for winning the Jerry Herman Awards, the qualifying competitions. In terms of everything I walked away with, I mean I got to work with major professionals in this business. The cool thing was that they treated us like professionals, too. They didn't treat us like a bunch of high school kids. I got to meet some incredible people through it all, too. My coach at the Jimmy Awards was Eden Espinosa, who was on Broadway as Elphaba and was in Rent- she's done a bunch of phenomenal things. Prior to coming to New York, I got to work with Kenny Ortega, who was my mentor here in LA before I left for the jimmy Awards, because he was a judge at the Jerry Herman Awards. It was an amazing experience.

Now that you've finished the competition and are going off to college, what are your plans?

The goal is to graduate in four years at the University of Michigan. I'm pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre. Then, I'll be moving to New York, where I'll start auditioning for shows. Broadway is the goal, but there's lots of theatre everywhere. I just want to be on a stage performing for the rest of my life.

If you had to bestow any words of advice upon aspiring performers, what would you tell them?

Probably the biggest advice I would give is to be yourself. I see so many people trying to imitate other voices and styles. We already have an Eden Espinosa, we already have a Jeremy Jordan. Look up to those people, but remember to have your own voice and bring your own cards to the table.

Catch Josh in the STARLIGHT BOWL 2016 Concert Season on July 16, performing his award winning rendition of "Maria" from West Side Story along with the John Burroughs High School Powerhouse Show Choir. The performance will be held in Burbank, CA. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.starlightbowl.com/