Awards Show on Broadway to Be Hosted by Tony ® – Nominated Laura Osnes and Santino Fantino
NEW YORK, June 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The National High School Musical Theater Awards (NHSMTA) is pleased to announce that 62 finalists selected from tens of thousands of students will compete for the coveted Jimmy™ Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress, scholarships and other honors at an event on Broadway to be hosted by the Tony Award®-nominated stars of Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA, Laura Osnes (Cinderella) and Santino Fontana (the Prince). The fifth annual performance showcase featuring dynamic ensemble and solo performances exclusively from the musical theater canon will take place on Monday, July 1, 2013 at 7:30pm at the Minskoff Theatre (200 W. 45th St). Tickets, which range from $35-$179, are on sale at Ticketmaster.com.
Nominees qualified to compete in the national program by winning top honors this year at 31 regional high school musical awards competitions. These annual events involve more than 50,000 teens in cities across America and are sponsored by the country's leading performing arts organizations.
NHSMTA nominees will prepare for their "Broadway debut" at a five-day theater intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts' New Studio on Broadway faculty members Liz Callaway, Telly Leung, Michael McElroy, Leslie Odom, Jr., Schele Williams-Kleinberger plus other theater professionals. Winners will be selected by a panel of industry experts including Scott Ellis (multi-Tony Award®-nominated director); Kent Gash (New Studio on Broadway, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama); Tony® Award-nominee Montego Glover (Memphis); Rachel Hoffman (Telsey + Company); Alecia Parker (National Artists Management Company); Nick Scandalios (Nederlander Organization) and Bernie Telsey (Telsey + Company and MCC Theater).
Founded in 2009, NHSMTA's mission is to raise the profile of musical theater 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/theater owner James M. Nederlander, the program has been the catalyst for more than $760,000 in educational scholarships made available to deserving students. NHSMTA is produced by the Broadway Education Alliance and supported by many leading theater industry organizations including The Broadway League, BWF (Weissler) Foundation, Disney Theatrical Productions, Jujamcyn Theatres, Music Theatre International, the Nederlander Organization, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Pittsburgh CLO, Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, Samuel French Library, Shubert Organization, Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc., Ticketmaster and others. To learn more about the National High School Musical Theater Awards and/or to make a donation to the program, please visit nhsmta.com.
The 2013 National High School Musical Theater Awards participating theater organizations and their Nominees:
| City, State | Professional Theater | Regional Awards Program | Best ActorNominee | Best ActressNominee |
| Atlanta, GA | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Foundation | Georgia High SchoolMusical Theater Awards
Shuler Hensley Awards |
Austin Crute | McKenzie Kurtz |
| Beverly, MA | North Shore Music Theatre | Spotlight on Stars | Connor Fallon | Laura Girard |
| Charlotte, NC | Blumenthal Performing Arts | The Blumey Awards | Areon Mobasher | Eva Maria Noblezada |
| Chicago, IL | Broadway in Chicago | The Illinois High School Musical Theater Awards | John Clay III | Taylor Marie Sherry |
| Dallas, TX | Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. | DSM High School Musical Theatre Awards | Cam Wenrich | Dakota Ratliff |
| Denver, CO | Denver Center Attractions | The Bobby G Awards | Chris Maclean | Nicole Seefried |
| Des Moines, IA | Des Moines Performing Arts | Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards | Kellen Schrimper | Bridget Johnston |
| Durham, NC | Durham Performing Arts Center | Triangle Rising Star Awards | Samuel Hamashima | Anna Higginson |
| East Lansing, MI | Wharton Center for Performing Arts | Ovation Awards | Brian Baylor | Mason Van Gieson |
| Fort Worth, TX | Casa Manana | Betty Lynn Buckley Awards | Benjamin Allen | Sarah Roach |
| Fullerton, CA | FCLO Music Theatre | John Raitt Awards for Youth (JRAY) | Shane Satterfield | Sarah Lynn Marion |
| Hershey, PA | Hershey Theatre | Hershey Theatre Apollo Awards | Benton Felty | Emily Homburger |
| Houston, TX | Theatre Under The Stars | Tommy Tune Awards | Ryne Nardecchia | Allison Anderson |
| Irving, TX | Lyric Stage, Inc. | The Schmidt and Jones Awards | Bo Graham | Sakyiwaa Baah |
| Kansas City, MO | Kansas City Starlight Theatre | Blue Star Awards | Patrick Graham | Lily Kaufmann |
| Las Vegas, NV | The Smith Center | The Nevada High School Musical Theater Awards | Ray Winters | Maddison Turner |
| Logan, UT | Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre | The Utah High SchoolMusical Theater Awards | Stirling Brenna | Sierra Dew |
| Los Angeles, CA | Pantages Theatre | The Jerry Herman Awards | Anthony Nappier | Natalia Vivino |
| Madison, WI | Overture Centerfor the Arts | The Tommy Awards | Billy Krager | Martha Hellerman |
| Memphis, TN | The Orpheum Theatre | The Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards | Russell Lehman | Olivia Wingate |
| Millburn, NJ | Paper Mill Playhouse | Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards | Matthew Durward Lynn | Jana Bernard |
| Mission Viejo, CA | McCoy Rigby Entertainment | The ChildressM.A.C.Y. Awards | Michael Burrell | Sarah Pierce |
| New York, NY | Camp Broadway in association with CAP21 | Camp BroadwayThe Gershwin Awards | Harold E. Theurer | Halle Mastroberardino |
| Norwich, CT | The Spirit of Broadway Theater | Connecticut High School Musical Theater Awards | Taylor Varga | Jillian Caillouette |
| Pittsburgh, PA | Pittsburgh Musical Theater | Geneva College Henry ManciniMusical Theatre Awards | Zach Malinak | Francesca Nardone |
| Pittsburgh, PA | Pittsburgh CLO | Pittsburgh CLOGene Kelly Awards | Angelo Ragghianti | Rachael Houser |
| Rochester, NY | Rochester Broadway Theatre League | Stars of Tomorrow | Stephen Heller | MacKenzie Wright |
| San Diego, CA | The Old Globe | Globe Honors | Hunter Schwarz | Annika Gullahorn |
| San Jose, CA | Broadway San Jose | Bay Area High SchoolMusical Theatre
Stage Top Honor Awards |
Rodd Farhadi | Myha'la Herrold |
| Tampa, FL | Straz Center for the Performing Arts | Broadway Star of the Future | Tim Hart | Chandler Lovelle |
| Wichita, KS | Music Theatreof Wichita | The Jester Awards | Trevor McChristian | Sophia Macias |
WHO'S WHO IN THE PROJECT
BROADWAY EDUCATION ALLIANCE (BEA) is a 501.c3 organization that serves as an independent catalyst for the development and implementation of national programs that serve local performing arts organizations and support theatre arts education and cultural studies for audiences of all ages. The National High School Musical Theater Awards is the organization's first national coalition presented to inspire creativity, build confidence, and stimulate critical thinking in American's youth. For more information, visit www.BroadwayEducationAlliance.org.
NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATER AWARDS (NHSMTA)/JIMMY™ AWARDS was founded in 2009 by Pittsburgh CLO and Nederlander Alliances LLC, under the leadership of James L. Nederlander, and is produced by the Broadway Education Alliance in association with Pittsburgh CLO. The program promotes the importance of theater arts programming in high schools, provides educational scholarships and creates a pathway for promising young performers to pursue a career in the professional theater industry. For more information, visit www.nhsmta.com.
NYU TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA integrates a combination of rigorous professional theatre training and broad-ranging academic education. In partnership with some of the country's foremost professional theatre training institutions, the program offers comprehensive theatre courses in acting, directing, musical performance, design, and theatre production. The program also offers an expansive and innovative academic curriculum. The faculty is composed of nationally and internationally recognized theatre artists, scholars, and theorists. The curriculum is further enriched by required courses in the humanities and social sciences. An extensive internship program connects students to the professional theatre community of New York City. The program is complemented by challenging and innovative productions that welcome guest artists from a range of culture and artistic perspectives. Graduates of the program include Alec Baldwin '94, Kristen Bell '02, Raul Esparza '92, Philip Seymour Hoffman '89, Bryce Dallas Howard '03, Felicity Huffman '88, Dan Jinks '85, Moises Kaufman '89, John Leguizamo '83, Michael Longoria '02, Idina Menzel '93, Molly Shannon '87, and Chandra Wilson '91.
Contact: Dan Dutcher (917-566-8413)
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Kristin Archbold (412-281-3973 x 221)
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