Sutton Foster Hosts the 2015 Jimmy Awards Tonight

The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA)/Jimmy™ Awards welcomes stage and screen star Sutton Foster as host of the seventh annual awards ceremony tonight, June 29th, at 7:30PM at the Minskoff Theatre, 200 West 45th Street in Manhattan. Fifty-two high school students from across America will compete for the Jimmy™ Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress. The talent showcase will feature dynamic ensemble and solo performances.

"Sutton Foster is one of our most talented and acclaimed actors in the Broadway community. Having a performer of her caliber sharing the stage with this year's nominees will be something they will always remember and cherish," says Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League. "The National High School Musical Theatre Awards are a way to praise and acknowledge the incredible theatre that is being done around the country in high schools, and the presence of a spectacular actress, singer and dancer like Sutton will be inspiring to so many students on stage and in the audience."

Sutton Foster can currently be seen starring in Darren Star's hit new TV Land series, "Younger." On Broadway, Sutton most recently appeared as Violet in the Roundabout Theatre Company's Tony Award-nominated revival of Violet, a role which garnered her Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critic Circle award nominations. Sutton will next be seen in the New York City Center Encores! Off-Center production of The Wild Party this July. Other Broadway credits include Anything Goes (Tony Award), Shrek, Young Frankenstein, The Drowsy Chaperone, Little Women,Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tony Award), LES MISERABLES, Annie, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Grease. Off-Broadway: Trust (Second Stage), Anyone Can Whistle (City Center Encores!). Sutton has traveled all over the United States and internationally with music director Michael Rafter, performing songs from her two albums: Wish and An Evening with Sutton Foster: Live at the Café Carlyle. She recently made her Carnegie Hall debut when she took the stage with the New York Pops and music director and conductor Steven Reineke in March 2015. On television she starred in Amy Sherman Palladino's "Bunheads," earning a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, in addition to appearances on "Psych," "Royal Pains," "Law & Order: SVU," "Flight of the Conchords" and "Sesame Street." She holds an honorary doctorate from Ball State University, where she also teaches.

Student performers qualify to compete in the national program by winning top honors at regional high school musical theatre awards competitions presented by Broadway League member performing arts centers. Over 1,000 high schools and 50,000 students participate in these annual events. Since its inception in 2009, the NHSMTA has enabled over $1,000,000 in university and conservatory scholarships to be awarded to talented students at the national and local level-several of whom have already been cast in Broadway, Touring and West End productions.

NHSMTA nominees will prepare for their Broadway debut during a five-day professional training intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts' New Studio on Broadway faculty members plus other theatre professionals.

Winners will be selected by a panel of judges comprised of notable theatre professionals including Tony Award-winning producers and award-winning casting experts: Kent Gash (Associate Arts Professor; Founding Director, New Studio on Broadway, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama), Rachel Hoffman C.S.A. (Telsey + Company), Arielle Tepper Madover (Producer, ATM Productions), Alecia Parker (Executive Producer, National Artists Management Company), Tara Rubin C.S.A. (Tara Rubin Casting), Nick Scandalios (Executive Vice President, The Nederlander Organization), Thomas Schumacher (President, Disney Theatrical Group) and Bernie Telsey C.S.A. (Telsey + Company).

Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO, and Broadway Education Alliance (BEA), NHSMTA's mission is to raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, recognize dedicated teachers and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts. Also known as The Jimmy™ Awards, in honor of legendary Broadway producer/theatre owner James M. Nederlander, the NHSMTA is supported by many leading theatre industry organizations. More information about the National High School Musical Theatre Awards can be found at nhsmta.com.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting NHSMTA.COM or TICKETMASTER.COM and range from $39 to $79. Premium seats are $175.

The Broadway League will conduct the program through THE BROADWAY LEAGUE FOUNDATION, which acts as its philanthropic arm. 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 a number of 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.

THE BROADWAY LEAGUE, founded in 1930, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League's 700-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers who present in nearly 200 markets in North America, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and on tour across the U.S. and Canada. The Broadway League has recently added a new category for International membership to collaborate with professionals from around the world who produce and present Broadway quality theatre. Visit www.BroadwayLeague.com, or follow The Broadway League on Twitter @TheBwayLeague or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BroadwayLeague. BROADWAY.ORG is the League's official on-line headquarters for Broadway in NYC, on tour, and internationally. Download the free Broadway.org mobile app for iOS or Android, and the free IBDB mobile app for iOS or Android.

The Broadway League annually presents the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards, one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry, with The American Theatre Wing.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride