BWW Exclusive Photo Coverage: IL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL AWARDS at Broadway Playhouse

By: Amy Boyle Jun. 03, 2015

Broadway In Chicago presented the fourth annual Illinois High School Musical Theater Awards held at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 East Chestnut Place) on Monday, June 1, 2015. Schools and students from the state of Illinois are invited to submit and 24 finalists (12 actors & 12 actresses) will be invited to participate in the program. Sponsored by Grosh Backdrops & Drapery and The Mash, the newly-established Illinois chapter of the National High School Musical Theater Awards serves as an annual national celebration of outstanding achievement in musical theater performance by high school students.

Check out an exclusive look below!

The National High School Musical Theater Awards (NHSMTA) was established in 2009 to elevate the importance of theater arts education in schools and reward excellence in student performance. The program impacts more than 50,000 students annually who participate in high school musical theater competitions sponsored by top professional theaters throughout the United States. Each year, winners of these competitions are flown to New York City to compete at Nationals. The seventh annual National High School Musical Theater Awards will take place on Monday, June 29, 2015 when students will give it their all at The Jimmy Awards showcase at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway. During this one-of-a-kind event, a panel of judges will choose two students for the coveted awards of Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress. The Jimmy Award is named in honor of James M. Nederlander, legendary Broadway theater owner and producer. Winners are selected by a panel of industry experts.

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 15 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining well up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago's Loop including the Bank of America Theatre, Oriental Theatre, Cadillac Palace Theatre, the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place. For more information, please visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

The 2014 Illinois High School Musical Theater Award recipients were Jonah Rawitz of Buffalo Grove and Julia Lindsey Whitcomb of Belvidere. At the 2014 National High School Musical Theater Awards, Jonah Rawitz was awarded the coveted Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor.

IHSMTA finalists perform "Magic to Do" from Pippin the Musical