Ben Vereen, Shirley Jones and More to Present at 2014 Jerry Herman Awards, June 1

Today, the Nederlander Organization and Hollywood Pantages Theatre announced the nominees for the 3rd Annual JERRY HERMAN AWARDS, a celebration of the achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre in Los Angeles. The annual awards show will be hosted by KABC-7 Reporter George Pennacchio at the Hollywood Pantages on Sunday, June 1, 2014 at 7pm.

All tickets for this awards celebration are $25 and are now on sale to the public online at www.JerryHermanAwards.com, www.HollywoodPantages.com, www.Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-982-2787 or at the Hollywood Pantages Box Office (6233 Hollywood Blvd).

Presenters from the worlds of Broadway, film and television confirmed to present awards include (in ABC order) Obba Babatunde, George Chakiris, Richard Chamberlain, Monty Hall, Shirley Jones, Renée Marino, Russ Tamblyn and Ben Vereen.

THE JERRY HERMAN AWARDS has invited four high schools to perform musical numbers during the program on Sunday, June 1st. Academy of Music at Hamilton High School will perform the title song from their production of Anything Goes, Mira Costa High School will perform "Ugg A Wugg" from Peter Pan, John Burroughs High School will perform "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" from Guys & Dolls, and L.A.C.H.S.A. will perform the title song from their production of Footloose.

All schools participating in THE JERRY HERMAN AWARDS are given the opportunity to send a leading man and leading lady to audition before a panel of judges, who determine the winner of the Best Actor and Best Actress categories. Winners in these two awards categories will represent Los Angeles at The National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City, where they will participate in a week long workshop and eventually compete for the coveted "Jimmy" Award; named after the owner of Hollywood Pantages: James M. Nederlander. The returning panel of judges includes Cathy Rigby, Karen Morrow, Nancy Dussault & John Bowab. Broadway's Kay Cole is welcomed to the panel as a judge.

During a six month period this school year, over 37 eligible high school productions were attended by adjudicators and scored in multiple creative, technical and performance categories, much like Broadway's Tony Awards.

For a full list of competing high schools and breakdown of nominations, visit www.JerryHermanAwards.com.

THE JERRY HERMAN AWARDS is a local celebration dedicated to recognizing, encouraging, and rewarding achievements and excellence in high school musical theatre. It is the local award ceremony for THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS, also known as The Jimmys, which take place annually at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway in New York City. This year, the national awards show will take place on Monday, June 30th.

THE JERRY HERMAN AWARDS has a run time of 2 Hours and 45 Minutes and is recommended for all ages. (Please note that in consideration of audiences, no one under 2½ years of age will be admitted to the theatre.)

For more information on THE JERRY HERMAN AWARDS, visit www.JerryHermanAwards.com.

For tickets or more information about THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS, please visit www.nhsmta.com.