MISS SAIGON's Eva Noblezada Reveals How the Jimmy Awards Launched Her Broadway Career

Eva Noblezada is living the American dream. She may be just a Broadway baby, but after making her debut at the age of 21, the Miss Saigon star has earned a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Kim.

In a recent interview with Richard Ridge, Noblezada told her amazing story of going from being a high school student performing on the Jimmy Awards to landing the role as Kim in Miss Saigon on the West End and on Broadway.

She explains, "I didn't know what the Jimmy Awards were until my school was introduced to it, but it was one of the most incredible week of my life at the time. Just being with a bunch of students who are so passionate about theatre, it was the coolest week ever and launched me into the career I have today and I couldn't be more grateful for the Jimmy Awards."

"Tara Rubin was in the audience when I sang my solo, 'With You' from Ghost the Musical. And she knew about the auditions for Miss Saigon and helped me set up an audition for Cameron [Macintosh]."

She also went on to talk about how her nerves leading up to the audition just fell away right before, saying, "I was like, shaking, because I had never done anything like that before. But as soon as I stepped into the room, everything fell away: my anxiety, my nervousness, my freaking out, just went away, it disappeared. I just turned it on because I knew in the back of my head that, 'this was your chance. '"

A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Eva was spotted by New York casting director, Tara Rubin, during a performance at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (also known as the Jimmy Awards) at the Minskoff Theatre in 2013. Rubin was so moved by Eva's talent that she set up an audition with Cameron Mackintosh, who was preparing his 2014 London revival of Miss Saigon. Several callbacks later with Mackintosh and the creative team, Eva was chosen to star as Kim, making her professional and West End debut in the show. She garnered unanimous critical acclaim for her performance and received the Whatsonstage Award for Best Actress in A Musical. Eva recently finished playing the role of Eponine in Boublil and Schönberg's Les Misérables at London's Queen's Theatre.

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