JEKYLL & HYDE's Constantine Maroulis and Deborah Cox Host 2012 Jimmy Awards Today, 6/25

The stars of the upcoming revival of JEKYLL & HYDE, Tony Award nominee Constantine Maroulis (Rock of Ages) and Grammy Award Nominee Deborah Cox (Aida), will host the 4th annual National High School Musical Theater Awards tonight, June 25th at 7:30pm at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre (200 W 45th St). The show will feature 60 of America's most talented young musical theater performers vying for the "Jimmy Award" for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor. Winners will be awarded college scholarships and other prizes will be announced live.

The event is a celebration of outstanding student achievement in vocal, dance and acting. Students will perform songs from the role that earned them top honors at their regional high school musical theater awards competitions. The complete list of participating regional theaters is available at www.nhsmta.com.

Winners of the Jimmy Awards are chosen by a panel of industry experts including Scott Ellis (Roundabout Theatre Company); Kent Gash (New Studio on Broadway, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama); Tony Award-nominee Montego Glover (Memphis); Rachel Hoffman (Telsey + Company); Alecia Parker (NAMCO); Nick Scandalios (Nederlander Organization) and Bernie Telsey (Telsey + Company and MCC Theater).

The 4th Annual National High School Musical Theater Awards will be the subject of the upcoming PBS documentary, "BROADWAY OR BUST," premiering in September.

Tickets to the performance tonight, June 25 at 7:30 pm, at the Minskoff Theatre, are available at Ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices are as follows: $250 (Premium Orchestra), $130 (Orchestra Center A - S), $99 (Orchestra Sides A - L), $59 (Orchestra Sides O - V), $30 (All Sections Rows W - ZZZ). Group and student discounts are available at Nederlander Sales & Patron Services by calling 800–714-8452. Ticket purchases help to support The National High School Musical Theater Awards.

For more information on the National High School Musical Theater Awards, visit www.nhsmta.com.

Constantine Maroulis (Host) played the lead role in a three-year run in Broadway's Rock of Ages and received a Best Actor Tony nomination and a Drama League nomination for his performance. Constantine made his Broadway debut in the Tony-Nominated production of The Wedding Singer and played the title role in the hit production of Toxic Avenger at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas through this spring. Constantine was a finalist on the fourth season of American Idol. He played the role of Roger Davis in the national tour of RENT. Constantine co-starred in the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. He was a series regular on the CBS daytime drama The Bold and The Beautiful, which featured original songs from his debut album "Constantine," released on his own label, Sixth Place Records. Other television credits include Law & Order, The Tonight Show, America's Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Conan, Ellen, Regis & Kelly, MTV and many more. In 2011, he was presented with both The Gabby Award and The Elios Award, which recognizes the excellence Greek Americans have achieved in various fields. Constantine will appear in the Warner Brothers feature film, Rock of Ages starring Tom Cruise this spring. Constantine graduated from the Boston Conservatory and apprenticed at The Williamstown Theatre Festival. @ConstantineM

Deborah Cox (Host) is a multi-platinum selling and a multi-talented entertainer, Cox has conquered the R&B and pop charts, including six top-20 Billboard R&B singles, an impressive eleven #1 hits on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart and the lead role in Elton John and Tim Rice's Broadway musical, Aida. While singing with Celine Dion, Cox was discovered by the infamous Clive Davis and instantly signed to Arista records. Her gold selling debut album Deborah Cox was released in 1995. In 1998 she followed up with the release of her second CD One Wish. From this CD came the double platinum "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" which held the record for being the longest running #1 R&B Single for 14 consecutive weeks and earned her a Lady of Soul and a Soul Train Award. Her second single "We Can't Be Friends" also went to #1 on Billboard's singles chart and sold over 500,000 copies. "Things Just Ain't The Same" and "It's Over Now" followed. Deborah has sung with Andrea Bocelli, toured with David Foster, Cyndi Lauper and Sarah Mac Lachlan with Lilith Fair. She was also invited to perform for First Lady Michelle Obama and most recently President Obama. In 2000 Deborah collaborated with Whitney Houston to record the duet "Same Script Different Cast" for her Greatest Hits CD. Her third album, "The Morning After" was released in 2002 with "Up & Down (In & Out)" co-written with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. In 2003, her fourth album "Remixed" was releasedfeaturing her Billboard chart topping dance remixes. In 2012, Deborah garnered her 11th number one Billboard Dance single with "If It Wasn't For Love". In addition to roles in both film and television, Deborah also released her fifth album, a Grammy nominated tribute album "Destination Moon" to the legendary Dinah Washington in 2007 (Universal). That same year she also received The Civil Rights Award from the New York Senate for her efforts in the fight for Human Rights and equality. In 2008, she formed Deco Recording Group and released her sixth studio album The Promise, where she earned her 10th #1 spot on the Billboard Dance Chart with the international hit "Beautiful U R". Behind the scenes, Deborah has recorded singles for several film soundtracks including Akeelah and the Bee, "Hotel Rwanda, Kingdom Come, Money Talks, A Good Man is Hard To Find and Tyler Perry's "Meet the Browns."

James M. Nederlander, or Jimmy as he is known in the theatrical community, is the Chairman of the Nederlander Producing Company of America Inc. For over 60 years, he has been the producer of distinguished entertainment for which he has received 34 nominations and won 11 Tony® Awards for Best Production of a musical or play and has presented artists ranging from Nureyev to Sinatra to Billy Joel to U2. The Broadway League recently bestowed the Gerald Schoenfeld Vision for the Arts in Education Award to Jimmy for establishing The National High School Musical Theater Awards.

THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATER AWARDS (NHSMTA)/JIMMY AWARDS was created to elevate the profile of in-school arts education across America, provide college scholarships and create a pathway connecting promising young performers to the professional theater industry. 1,000 high schools and 50,000 teenagers nationwide participate in the program annually. Students who win the lead actor and actress awards at their regional high school musical theater awards competitions convene in New York City for 5-days of private coaching and rehearsals at the New Studio on Broadway, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama in preparation for their Broadway debut at The Jimmy Awards. The program was founded in 2009 by Pittsburgh CLO and Nederlander Alliances LLC, under the leadership of James L. Nederlander, and is produced by The Broadway Education Alliance in association with Pittsburgh CLO. It has been supported by The National Endowment for the Arts, The Broadway League, The Shubert Organization and other industry organizations and foundations committed to nurturing future artists and audiences. The Jimmy™ Award is named for James M. Nederlander, the legendary Broadway theater owner, in honor of his vision and generous support of young artists.

BROADWAY EDUCATION ALLIANCE is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to supporting the theatre industry through the development of coalition programs between performing arts institutions and philanthropic partnerships with public and private entities. The mission is to raise awareness around and fund arts education programs and provide services that inspire creativity, build confidence and stimulate thinking in American's youth. The organization is a member of the New York Institute of Technology's Education Enterprise Zone.

Pittsburgh CLO has been the driving force behind live musical theater in Pittsburgh and the Southwestern Pennsylvania region since 1946. Under the direction of Van Kaplan since 1997, this not-for-profit arts organization appreciates the support of nearly 200,000 patrons each year and produces a subscription series, educational programs and develops and invests in new works and national tours, including 13 Broadway shows (13 Tony® Awards) including the current production of Evita and the national tour of The Addams Family. The organization's dedication to the musical theater art form includes programs such as the CLO Academy, the CLO Mini Stars, the Gene Kelly Awards, the Richard Rodgers Award, the Construction Center for the Arts, the CLO Cabaret and The National High School Musical Theater Awards.

NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama integrates a combination of rigorous professional theatre training and broad-ranging academic education. In partnership with some of the country's foremost professional theatre training institutions, the program offers comprehensive theatre courses in acting, directing, musical performance, design, and theatre production. The program also offers an expansive and innovative academic curriculum. The faculty is composed of nationally and internationally recognized theatre artists, scholars, and theorists. The curriculum is further enriched by required courses in the humanities and social sciences. An extensive internship program connects students to the professional theatre community of New York City. The program is complemented by challenging and innovative productions that welcome guest artists from a range of culture and artistic perspectives. Graduates of the program include Alec Baldwin '94, Kristen Bell '02, Raúl Esparza '92, Philip Seymour Hoffman '89, Bryce Dallas Howard '03, Felicity Huffman '88, Dan Jinks '85, Moisés Kaufman '89, John Leguizamo '83, Michael Longoria '02, Idina Menzel '93, Molly Shannon '87, and Chandra Wilson '91.