Lauren A. Marchand and Langston Lee Win Top Prizes At The 2023 Jimmy Awards!

Earlier tonight, the most talented teenagers from across the country took the stage at the Minskoff Thetare for the 14th Annual Jimmy Awards, hosted by Corbin Bleu. BroadwayWorld is excited to report that Langston Lee (Heller Awards for Young Artists, Rouse High School) and Lauren A. Marchand (Roger Rees Awards, Jericho High School) have won Best Performance by an Actor and Best Perfromance by an Actress. 

Marchand was nominated for her portrayal of Elsa in Disney's Frozen while Lee portrayed Dmitry in Anastasia.

Other finalists included Omar Andre Real, Anna Wright, Christian Strong, Samia Posadas, Corbin Drew Ross, and Maya Sharma.

The 14th annual Jimmy Awards welcomed seven coaches who mentored the 96 high school students from across America who have come to New York City for a chance to win the Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress. The coaches include: Jenni Barber, Max Chernin, MaryAnn Hu, Adam Kantor, Telly Leung, Howard McGillin, and Desi Oakley.

The panel of judges for the 2023 Jimmy Awards was comprised of notable theatre professionals including Tony Award®-winning producers, award-winning casting experts, and industry leaders. Winners, finalists, and semifinalists will be selected by Khady Kamara, Joe Machota, Alecia Parker, T. Oliver Reid, Tara Rubin, Nick Scandalios, Thomas Schumacher, Bernie Telsey, and Sergio Trujillo. Preliminary judges who evaluated and cast the nominees included Kristian Charbonier, Stephanie Klapper, Kevin Metzger-Timson, Dale Mott, and Seth Sklar-Heyn.

About the Jimmy Awards:

The National High School Musical Theatre Awards®, better known as the Jimmy Awards®, is a coast-to-coast celebration of outstanding student achievement, recognizing individual artistry in vocal, dance, and acting performance. The 2023 Jimmy Awards features 96 nominees from 48 regional awards programs making their debuts on a Broadway stage. During this unforgettable talent showcase, a panel of judges will select two students to receive the coveted awards of Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress.

The Jimmy Awards®/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (NHSMTA®) program impacts 140,000 students who participate in nearly 50 regional high musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of touring Broadway productions throughout the United States. Named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, the program has been the catalyst for more than $6,000,000 in educational scholarships.

Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO, and Broadway Education Alliance (BEA), the mission of the NHSMTA is to raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, honor dedicated teachers, and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts. Numerous student participants have already been cast in Broadway, Touring, and West End productions.

Presented by The Broadway League Foundation Inc., the NHSMTA invites one Best Actress and one Best Actor nominee from each local regional ceremony to New York City for a week-long theatre intensive that includes coaching sessions, training, and rehearsals led by some of Broadway’s most accomplished professionals. Following all their combined efforts throughout the week, the nominees will all perform during one extraordinary talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on a Broadway stage. The 14th annual Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 26, 2023, at the Minskoff Theatre. For more information, please visit JimmyAwards.com.

The Broadway League conducts the program through The Broadway League Foundation Inc., its philanthropic division. Part of the Foundation’s mission is to enlighten and increase the public's knowledge, appreciation, and awareness of the theatrical arts, and since its founding in 1993, has supported several projects to help preserve Broadway's heritage and introduce new audiences to Broadway theatre. The Foundation is a corporation organized under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of the State of New York, the purposes of which are exclusively charitable as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Donations to support the program can be made at www.JimmyAwards.com.