Theater News

Facebook to Stream the 10th Annual Jimmy Awards Live

Laura Benanti will host the celebration of high school theater talent at the Minskoff Theatre.

Laura Benanti will host this year's Jimmy Awards.
Laura Benanti will host this year's Jimmy Awards.
(© David Gordon)

The Broadway League has announced that, with support from Dear Evan Hansen and Wells Fargo, the 10th annual Jimmy Awards will be streamed live on Facebook for the first time this year. The livestream will include special content for those watching it online. This year's Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 25, at 7:30pm at the Minskoff Theatre.

The 2018 Jimmy Awards ceremony, presented by the Broadway League Foundation, will include a record number of 80 participants from 40 regional programs across the country. The show will include ensemble and solo performances, and at the end, it will name this year's Jimmy Award winners of Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress.

Jimmy Awards nominees will prepare 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 theater professionals. Winners will be selected by a panel of industry experts.

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 theater 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 million in university and conservatory scholarships. Several student participants have already been cast in Broadway, touring, and West End productions.

At this year's event, the Inspiring Teacher Award, presented by Wells Fargo, will be presented to Janine Papin of Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, Florida, and Nadine Love of William R. Boone High School in Orlando, Florida.