Broadway In Chicago Announces Nominees For Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards

Broadway In Chicago has announced the twenty-four students nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress, and nominees for Best Production presented by Guardian Music Travel, Best Direction and Best Scenic Design presented by SPL for the seventh annual Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards. The nominees (12 young actors and 12 young actresses), selected after evaluating 80 productions across the state of Illinois, have been invited to participate in the Awards program, which will be held at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut) on Monday, June 4, 2018 at 6:30PM and hosted by NBC 5 entertainment reporter LeeAnn Trotter. Sponsored by NBC 5, the Illinois chapter of The Jimmy Awards (National High School Musical Theatre Awards) serves as an annual national celebration of outstanding achievement in musical theater performance by high school students.

Broadway In Chicago has crafted a workshop led by HAMILTON Chicago cast member Gabriella Sorrentino (Dance Captain/Swing) whose previous theatrical credits include ON YOUR FEET! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan on Broadway as well as regional productions of A CHORUS LINE, IN THE HEIGHTS and WEST SIDE STORY. HAMILTON currently plays at Broadway In Chicago's CIBC Theatre (18 W. Monroe).

The workshop for these twenty-four nominees will culminate in a performance onstage at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place. During the day, nominees will audition for a panel of casting agents and theatre professionals who will choose the recipients of performance awards. A Best Actress and Best Actor winner from Illinois will be sent to New York City, on an all-expense paid trip, for a week-long theatre intensive of coaching and rehearsals with industry professionals in preparation for a one-night-only showcase, where they will represent the state of Illinois at The Jimmy Awards on Broadway.

In addition to the workshop, nominees will receive tickets to a Broadway In Chicago show.

An award for Best Production presented by Guardian Music Travel, Best Direction, and Best Scenic Design presented by SPL will be presented to participating schools.

The 2017 Illinois High School Musical Theatre Award recipients were Justin Smusz of Benet Academy in Bolingbrook, IL (Best Actor), Carly Meyer of Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, IL (Best Actress), York Community High School for their production of WEST SIDE STORY (Best Production), Cary-Grove High School for their production of EVITA (Best Scenic Design) and Lauren Condon and Brian Wand of Benet Academy for their production of ALL SHOOK UP (Best Direction).

For more information on both awards and complete rules and regulations, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com/about/IHSMTA/. For more information on National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as The Jimmy Awards, visit www.jimmyawards.com.

NOMINEES FOR BEST ACTRESS

• Audrey Hare as "Mrs. Irene Molloy" in Benet Academy's Hello, Dolly!
• Alicia O'Reilly as "Eponine" in Carl Sandburg High School's Les Miserables
• Alyssa DiRaimondo as "Gertrude McFuzz" in Cary-Grove High School's Seussical
• Natalie Doppelt as "Sister Mary Robert" in Deerfield High School's Sister Act
• Carly Meyer as "Ariel" in Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South High School's The Little Mermaid
• Joy Woods as "Deloris Van Cartier" in Homewood-Flossmoor High School's Sister Act
• Alexandria Hibbard-Brown as "Anna Leonowens" in Libertyville High School's The King and I
• Emma Samuelson as "Jo March" in Loyola Academy's Little Women
• Maura Pawleko as "Velma Von Tussle" in Oak Park-River Forest High School's Hairspray
• Annie Yamamoto as "Sister Mary Robert" in William Fremd High School's Sister Act
• Carina Kanzler as "Mae Tuck" in York Community High School's Tuck Everlasting
• Erin Lee as "Winnie Foster" in York Community High School's Tuck Everlasting

NOMINEES FOR BEST ACTOR

• Connor White as "Don Lockwood" in Addison Trail High School's Singin' In The Rain
• A.J. DePew as "Tevye" in Adlai E. Stevenson High School's Fiddler On The Roof
• Patrick Vivoda as "Cornelius Hackl" in Benet Academy's Hello, Dolly!
• Spencer Avery as "Prince Eric" in Bolingbrook High School's The Little Mermaid
• Jake Mickel as "J. Pierpont Finch" in Burlington Central High School's How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
• Justin O'Brien as "The Cat In The Hat" in Cary-Grove High School's Seussical
• Johnny Rabe as "Charley Kringas" in The Chicago Academy for the Arts' Merrily We Roll Along
• Darian Goulding as "The Beast" in Hampshire High School's Beauty & The Beast
• Dominic Cappuccilli as "Jean Valjean" in Mundelein High School's Les Miserables
• Aiden Lenehan as "Edna Turnblad" in Oak Park-River Forest High School's Hairspray
• Andrew Tufano as "Bobby Child" in St. Ignatius College Prep's Crazy For You
• David Larsen as "Quasimodo" in South Elgin High School's The Hunchback of Notre Dame

NOMINEES FOR BEST PRODUCTION presented by Guardian Music Travel

• Adlai E. Stevenson High School's production of Fiddler On The Roof
• Benet Academy's production of Hello, Dolly!
• Cary Grove High School's production of Seussical
• Libertyville High School's production of The King & I
• York Community High School's production of Tuck Everlasting

NOMINEES FOR BEST DIRECTION

• Jack Micetich, Coal City High School- Les Miserables
• Danny Yuska, Hinsdale South High School- Legally Blonde
• Christopher Thomas, Libertyville High School - The King & I
• Michelle Bayer, Oak Park-River Forest High School- Hairspray
• Rebecca Marianetti, York Community High School- Tuck Everlasting

NOMINEES FOR BEST SCENIC DESIGN presented by SPL

• Coal City High School's production of Les Miserables
• Crystal Lake South High School's production of Peter Pan
• Hinsdale South High School's production of Legally Blonde
• Lincoln-Way East High School's production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• Prairie Ridge High School's production of In the Heights

ABOUT THE JIMMY AWARDS
The Jimmy Awards/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) impacts more than 100,000 students who participate in high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of Touring Broadway productions throughout the United States. A Best Actress and Best Actor winner from each of these competitions is sent to New York for a week-long theatre intensive of coaching and rehearsals with industry professionals in preparation for a one-night-only showcase on Broadway, where a panel of judges crowns the nation's top performers. Named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, the program has been the catalyst for more than $2,000,000 in educational scholarships.

In 2012, the program inspired preeminent broadcaster WGBH Boston to produce a 3-part documentary series called "Broadway or Bust," which follows students on a journey from their hometown competitions to their debut on Broadway. The series remains popular viewing at www.pbs.org. For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 18 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 more than 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 Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, Oriental Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place and presenting Broadway shows at The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University.

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