Nominees Announced for the 2015 National High School Musical Theatre Awards!

THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS (NHSMTA)/JIMMY AWARDS just announced that 52 high school students from across America will compete for the Jimmy™ Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress at the seventh annual awards ceremony. The presentation will take place on Monday, June 29th at 7:30PM at the Minskoff Theatre, 200 West 45th Street in Manhattan. Tickets can be purchased by visiting NHSMTA.COM or TICKETMASTER.COM and range from $39 to $79. Premium seats are $175.

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 1,000 high schools and 50,000 students participate in these annual events. Since its inception in 2009, the NHSMTA has enabled over $1,000,000 in university and conservatory scholarships to be awarded to talented students at the national and local level-several of whom have already been cast in Broadway, Touring and West End productions. NHSMTA nominees will prepare for their Broadway debut during a five-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 judges comprised of notable theatre professionals including Tony Award-winning producers and award-winning casting experts: Kent Gash (Associate Arts Professor; Director, New Studio on Broadway, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama), Rachel Hoffman C.S.A. (Telsey + Company), Arielle Tepper Madover (Producer, ATM Productions), Alecia Parker (Executive Producer, National Artists Management Company), Tara Rubin C.S.A. (Tara Rubin Casting), Nick Scandalios (Executive Vice President, The Nederlander Organization), Thomas Schumacher(President, Disney Theatrical Group) and Bernie Telsey C.S.A. (Telsey + Company).

Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO, and Broadway Education Alliance (BEA), NHSMTA's mission is to raise the profile of musical theatre 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/theatre owner James M. Nederlander, the NHSMTA is supported by many leading theatre industry organizations. More information about the National High School Musical Theatre Awards can be found at nhsmta.com.

The 2015 National High School Musical Theatre Awards

Participating Theatre Organizations and their Nominees:

City, State	Theatre/Organization	Regional Awards Program	Best Actor Nominee	Best Actress Nominee
Atlanta, GA	Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre ArtsBridge Foundation	Georgia High School Musical Theater Awards Shuler Hensley Awards	Nick Eibler	McKenzie Kurtz
Charlotte, NC	Blumenthal Performing Arts	The Blumey Awards	Justin Norwood	Lauren Hunkele
Chicago, IL	Broadway in Chicago	Illinois High School Musical Theater Awards	Ben Love	Grace Etzkorn
Dallas, TX	Dallas Summer Musicals	DSM High School Musical Theatre Awards	Chris Clark	Katelyn Cave
Denver, CO	Denver Center for the Performing Arts	The Bobby G. Awards	Evatt Salinger	Emma Buchanan
Des Moines, IA	Des Moines Performing Arts	Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards	Lincoln Ginsberg	Jessica Martens
Durham, NC	Durham Performing Arts Center	Triangle Rising Star Awards	Alex Fernandez	Faith Jones
East Lansing, MI	Wharton Center for Performing Arts	Ovation Awards	Aleksander Papanastasopoulos	Maddy Mathias
Houston, TX	Theatre Under the Stars	Tommy Tune Awards	Alec Michael Ryan	Audrey McKee
Kansas City, MO	Kansas City Starlight Theatre	Blue Star Awards	Austin Dalgleish	Maggie Marx
Las Vegas, NV	The Smith Center	Nevada High School Musical Theater Awards	Deylan Dean	Courtney Neistadt
Logan, UT	MagicSpace Entertainment	Utah High School Musical Theater Awards	Jordan Kirkham	Abby Watts
Los Angeles, CA	Pantages Theatre (Broadway LA)	The Jerry Herman Awards	Josh Velez	Brianna Bryan
Madison, WI	Overture Center for the Arts	The Tommy Awards	Rayven Burdette	Emily Matt
Memphis, TN	The Orpheum Theatre	Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards	Maclean Mayers	Erica Peninger
Mission Viejo, CA	McCoy Rigby Entertainment	The M.A.C.Y. Awards	Anthony Skillman	Morgan Higgins
New York, NY	Camp Broadway	The Gershwin Awards	Ryan Koerber	Marla Louissaint
Norwich, CT	Palace Theater	Connecticut High School Musical Theater Awards	Zac Gottschall	Chiara Giampietro
Omaha, NE	Omaha Performing Arts	Nebraska High School Theatre Awards	Marcel Daley	Emma Brown
Pittsburgh, PA	Pittsburgh CLO	Gene Kelly Awards	Larry McKay	Marnie Quick
Rochester, NY	Rochester Broadway Theatre League	Stars of Tomorrow	Noah Barnes	Molly Feldman
San Antonio, TX	Las Casas Foundation	Las Casas Performing Arts Scholarship Competition- Joci Awards	Travis Anderson	Sabrina Uriegas
San Diego, CA Tucson, AZ	Broadway/San Diego Broadway in Tucson	The Ben Vereen Awards	Gino Cocchi	Catherine Ames
San Jose, CA	Broadway San Jose	The Rita Moreno California High School Musical Honors	Sam O'Byrne	Perry Borders
Seattle, WA	The 5th Avenue Theatre	The 5th Avenue Awards	Andrew Henson	Hannah Sulak
Tampa, FL	Straz Center for the Performing Arts	Broadway Star of the Future	Kamari Saxon	Kylie Heyman

WYNDHAM REWARDS, the simple, generous new loyalty program for Wyndham Hotel Group, is an official sponsor of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards.

The Broadway League will conduct the program through THE BROADWAY LEAGUE FOUNDATION, which acts as its philanthropic arm. Part of the Foundation's mission is to enlighten and increase the public's knowledge, appreciation and awareness of the theatrical arts, and since its founding in 1993 has supported a number of 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.

THE BROADWAY LEAGUE, founded in 1930, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League's 700-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers who present in nearly 200 markets in North America, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and on tour across the U.S. and Canada. The Broadway League has recently added a new category for International membership to collaborate with professionals from around the world who produce and present Broadway quality theatre. Visitwww.BroadwayLeague.com, or follow The Broadway League on Twitter @TheBwayLeague or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BroadwayLeague. BROADWAY.ORG is the League's official on-line headquarters for Broadway in NYC, on tour, and internationally. Download the free Broadway.org mobile app for iOS or Android, and the free IBDB mobile app for iOS or Android.

The Broadway League annually presents the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards®, one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry, with The American Theatre Wing.

Photo Credit: Henry McGee