VIDEO: DEAR EVAN HANSEN Welcomes 2018 Jimmy Award Nominees

Before their big night at the Jimmy Awards, the creatives and company of Dear Evan Hansen invited this year's nominees to a special performance of the show, including an exclusive post-show talkback! See the Jimmy nominees pay a visit to the show below!

A record 80 high school students from across America took part in the Jimmy Awards, to compete for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress as well as other honors and scholarships at the tenth annual awards ceremony. Tony Award Winner Laura Benanti hosted the presentation which was live streamed from the Minskoff Theatre. (Click here for a full list of winners!)

Jimmy Awards nominees prepared for their debut on a Broadway stage during a nine-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 industry experts.

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 1,500 high schools and 100,000 students participate in these annual events.

Additionally, the INSPIRING TEACHER AWARD presented by WELLS FARGO will be bestowed on Janine Papin, Trinity Preparatory School, Winter Park, Florida and Nadine Love, William R. Boone High School, Orlando, Florida for the encouragement and inspiration that led their students to win the coveted 2017 Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor.

Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO, and Broadway Education Alliance (BEA), the mission of the Jimmy Awards/National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) is to raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, recognize dedicated teachers, and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts. Since the inception of the program, participating students have earned over $2,000,000 in university and conservatory scholarships. Several student participants have already been cast in Broadway, Touring and West End productions.

The Jimmy Awards are presented by the Broadway League Foundation in honor of legendary Broadway producer/theatre owner James M. Nederlander, and are supported by many leading theatre industry organizations. More information about the National High School Musical Theatre Awards program can be found at JimmyAwards.com.

The Broadway League Foundation acts as the philanthropic arm of the Broadway League. Part of the Foundation's mission is to enlighten and increase the public's knowledge, appreciation, and awareness of the theatrical arts. Since its founding in 1993, it has supported 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 JimmyAwards.com.