2017 Rita Moreno California High School Musical Honors Announce Nominees

The Rita Moreno California High School Musical Honors announced today the 2017 nominees who will compete in front of a panel of nationally recognized judges on Monday, May 22, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. at San Jose's Center for the Performing Arts.

Sponsored by Children's Musical Theater San Jose and Broadway San Jose, a Nederlander Presentation, this regional awards competition recognizes outstanding achievement in high school musical theatre outside of the Los Angeles area. Tickets for The Rita Moreno California High School Musical Honors are $25 and available now by visiting ritamorenoawards.com or calling 800-982-ARTS (2787).

Judges for the evening of May 22 include casting director Michael Donovan, producer, director and choreographer Andy Ferrara, and actress Wendy Rosoff. Winners in the 'Best Lead Actor' and 'Best Lead Actress' categories that evening will join regional winners from around the nation at The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) - also known as the Jimmy Awards - in New York City, where they will perform on Monday, June 26 on Broadway's Minskoff Theatre stage before industry experts and compete for scholarship opportunities to New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. 2017 Tony Award nominee Ben Platt, currently starring on Broadway in Dear Evan Hansen, will serve as host.

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This year's nominated schools are:

Arcata High School, Arcata

Archbishop Mitty High School, San Jose

Dougherty Valley High School, San Ramon

The Harker School, San Jose

Lincoln High School, San Jose

Franklin High School, Elk Grove

Novato High School (Marin School of the Arts), Novato

Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, San Francisco

San Mateo High School, San Mateo

Santa Catalina School, Monterey

St. Joseph Notre Dame High School, Alameda

St. Francis High School, Sacramento

Valley Christian High School, San Jose

Willow Glen High School, San Jose

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This year's individual nominees are:

OVERALL PRODUCTION:

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Novato High School)

Into the Woods (Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts)

Les Misérables (Archbishop Mitty High School)

Mary Poppins (Franklin High School)

Oklahoma! (Valley Christian High School)

Spring Awakening (Lincoln High School)

LEAD ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:

Ivan Bracy as "Stacee Jaxx" in Rock of Ages, Archbishop Mitty High School

Matthew De Jesus as "Bert" in Mary Poppins, Franklin High School

Eric Gaydon as "Curly" in Oklahoma!, Valley Christian High School

Toron Herring as "Scarecrow" in The Wiz, St. Joseph Notre Dame High School

Ty Vizenor as "Don Lockwood" in Singin' in the Rain, Arcata High School

Nic Wratten as "Juan Peron" in Evita, San Mateo High School

LEAD ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:

Natalie Bourgeois as "Jo" in Little Women, St. Francis High School

Cayleigh Capaldi as "Edwin Drood/Miss Alice Nutting" in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Santa Catalina School

Danny Castillo as "Sister Mary" in Disaster!, Willow Glen High School

Emily Goes as "Eponine" in Les Misérables, Archbishop Mitty High School

Alison Lee as "Vanessa" in In the Heights, Dougherty Valley High School

Stephanie Sanchez as "The Wiz" in The Wiz, St. Joseph Notre Dame High School

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:

Michael Carey as "Professor Bhaer" in Little Women, St. Francis High School

Tyler Harding as "Wealthy Husband" in Disaster!, Willow Glen High School

Ashish Prasad as "Ali Hakim" in Oklahoma!, Valley Christian High School

Ashwin Rao as "Ryan" in High School Musical, The Harker School

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:

Lea Akima as "Glinda" in The Wiz, St. Joseph Notre Dame High School

Sana Aladin as "Miss Darbus" in High School Musical, The Harker School

Julia Fernandez as "Aunt Eller" in Oklahoma!, Valley Christian High School

Jillie Kate Randle as "Amy" in Little Women, St. Francis High School

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74 high school students from 37 regional programs across America will compete for the Jimmy for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress at the ninth annual presentation in New York City. All nominees will prepare for their debut on a Broadway stage during a ten-day professional training intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts' New Studio with Broadway faculty members, plus other theatre professionals.

The National High School Musical Theatre Awards was established in 2009 to elevate the importance of theatre arts education in schools and reward excellence in student performance. The program impacts over 50,000 students annually who participate in high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by thirty professional theatres throughout the United States.

Since its inception, NHSMTA has been the catalyst for more than $1,000,000 in educational scholarships awarded to deserving young performers. Also known as The Jimmy Awards, named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, this year-round program is administered by The Broadway League Foundation, Inc., The Broadway League's charitable foundation. Its mission is to enlighten and increase the public's knowledge, appreciation and awareness of the theatrical arts and to provide a forum for the discussion of issues relating to the preservation and promotion of live theatre as a vital and culturally significant artistic medium.

Thanks to the support of its participating League member theatres and donors, NHSMTA continues to grow. In 2012, the program inspired PBS to produce a 3-part documentary series called "Broadway or Bust," which followed students on a journey from their hometown competitions to their debut at the Minskoff Theatre. The series premiered in September 2012 and was showcased in 100% of PBS's Top 50 strategic markets, ranking as one of their most highly rated programs. It remains popular viewing at www.pbs.org.

The depth, scope, and education-centric mission of NHSMTA coupled with its extensive television and media exposure has made participating in the program an aspiration for a growing number of high schools. Based on feedback from participating theatres, school administrators are now directing both human and financial resources to improve the quality of theatre arts education in their districts. This renewed enthusiasm for the performing arts in schools is already helping to invigorate local theatres and the communities they serve. For more information, visit www.nhsmta.com.

Broadway San Jose - the northern California affiliate of the Nederlander Organization - presents touring Broadway musicals at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts in partnership with Team San Jose, and is a member of the Broadway League. (www.broadwaysanjose.com)

Currently in its 49th season, Children's Musical Theater (CMT San Jose) impacts over 10,000 youth per season through multiple educational programs. CMT produces 10 shows a season encompassing 107 performances at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose. (www.cmtsj.org)

The Jimmy Award is named in honor of James M. Nederlander, legendary Broadway theatre owner and producer.

James M. Nederlander or "Jimmy" as the theatrical community knew him, was the Chairman of the Nederlander Producing Company of America Inc., which recently marked its 100th anniversary, and was a producer of distinguished entertainment for more than 70 years. He produced innumerable Broadway plays and musicals, winning 11 Tony Awards, and presented operas, ballets, concerts, and artists ranging from Nureyev to Sinatra to Billy Joel to U2. Nine of his theatres are on Broadway and the balance in Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego, Tucson, Durham, Chicago, and London.

Nederlander Broadway houses have hosted Wicked, Hamilton, The Lion King, An American in Paris, Honeymoon in Vegas, and Finding Neverland.

Mr. Nederlander produced or co-produced more than 100 shows including Applause, Copehagan, The Will Rogers Follies, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Me and My Girl, La Cage aux Folles, Nine, Noises Off, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, Benefactors, Woman of the Year, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.

The Broadway League presented Jimmy with the Schoenfeld Vision for Arts Education Award in 2010 for establishing the National High School Musical Theatre Awards.