HADESTOWN: TEEN EDITION and More Take Home 2025 Rita Moreno Awards

Broadway San Jose, a Nederlander Presentation, and Children's Musical Theater San Jose, announced the 2025 winners of The Rita Moreno Awards held in-person at San Jose's Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, May 12. This regional awards competition recognizes outstanding achievement in high school musical theatre from San Mateo County down to Kern County in Southern California.

The 2025 winners are:

OVERALL PRODUCTION:
Hadestown: Teen Edition
Mountain View High School (Mountain View, CA)

LEAD ACTOR:
Nico Bennett as Nick Bottom in Something Rotten!
Burlingame High School (Burlingame, CA)

LEAD ACTRESS:
Levana Geshuri as Alice in Alice By Heart
Archbishop Mitty High School (San Jose, CA)

SUPPORTING PERFORMER:
*TIE*
Princess Ravelo as Fate 2 in Hadestown: Teen Edition
Abraham Lincoln High School (San Jose, CA)

Melanie Vincent as Annas/Apostle James in Jesus Christ Superstar
Bellarmine College Preparatory (San Jose, CA)

FAN FAVORITE:
Cabaret
Hillsdale High School (San Mateo, CA)

Nico Bennett (Lead Actor) and Levana Geshuri (Lead Actress) will join regional winners from 55 regional programs across the nation at The 16th Annual Jimmy Awards ceremony will take place on Monday, June 23, 2025, when 110 students will make their debuts on a Broadway stage. During this unforgettable event at the Minskoff Theatre, a panel of judges will bestow a number of awards and scholarships, including the coveted awards for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress. In addition to performing in the awards ceremony, students will participate in a rigorous theatre intensive that includes coaching sessions, training, and rehearsals led by some of Broadway's most accomplished professionals, culminating in an extraordinary, one-night-only talent showcase. 

The Jimmy Awards/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) program was established in 2009 to elevate the importance of theatre arts education in schools and reward excellence in student performance. Since then, the NHSMTA has been the catalyst for more than $6 million in educational scholarships awarded to deserving young performers. Over the years, the NHSMTA has grown to include 55 affiliated regional high school musical theatre awards programs in communities throughout the United States and impacts approximately 150,000 students from 2,300 high schools.

Named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, this year-round program is administered by The Broadway League Foundation Inc., The Broadway League's charitable division. The Foundation's mission is to support the arts education, community engagement, and audience access programs of the Broadway League, which envisions a world that universally recognizes Broadway theatre as a dynamic, vibrant, inclusive, and accessible entertainment experience. 

The depth, scope, and education-centric mission of the Jimmy Awards coupled with its extensive television and media coverage 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 staff and financial resources to improve the quality of theatre arts education in their districts. This renewed enthusiasm for the performing arts in schools across the country is already helping to invigorate local theatres and the communities they serve.  For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.   

Photo Credit: Ben Krantz Studio

San Francisco / Bay Area Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. URINETOWN (Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble)

21.2% of votes

2. THE DAY THE SKY TURNED ORANGE (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company / Z Space)

7.2% of votes

3. SWEENEY TODD (Cabrillo Stage)

7.1% of votes

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