Just a few months ago, Jake James and Samia Posadas were performing in front of hometown crowds at their high schools in Georgia and Arizona. On Monday night, they got to star on a bigger stage: Broadway’s Minskoff Theater.
James, of Milton High School in Milton, Ga., and Posadas, of Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Ariz., were crowned best actor and best actress at Monday night’s Jimmy Awards, which honor excellence in high school musical theater.
James, who performed “It’s Hard to Speak My Heart” from “Parade,” and Posadas, who earned rousing applause for a rendition of “Where Am I Now?” from “Lysistrata Jones,” were selected as the top prize winners from a group of 116 nominees from 58 cities. Each will receive a $25,000 scholarship toward their future education from the competition, known as the “Tonys for teenagers.”
“In the world that we live in right now, this is the only thing you can come to and you can be fully present the entire time,” James said after accepting his award, on the stage where “The Lion King” musical has been running since 1997.
“This is the one place that we can all share a story,” he continued. “The world needs this.”
The awards, formally known as the National High School Musical Theater Awards and held annually since 2009, have become a launchpad for future stars and Tony nominees. Hosted this year by the comedian Bowen Yang, they are attended by casting agents for Broadway and national tours, some of whom serve as judges.
They can be a lucrative platform for musical theater students, even if they don’t ultimately win: Alumni who have gone on to successful careers include Reneé Rapp (“Mean Girls”) and Andrew Barth Feldman (“Dear Evan Hansen”), who won best actress and actor at the 2018 Jimmys; Eva Noblezada (“Hadestown,” “Miss Saigon”), a 2013 finalist who stars in “The Great Gatsby” on Broadway; and Justin Cooley, a 2021 finalist whose Tony nomination for his performance in “Kimberly Akimbo” came just two years later.
They also provide an invaluable experience for nominees, who are chosen after a monthslong selection process based on their school production performances. They get to spend a week in New York City sightseeing, attending Broadway musicals, receiving hours of individual and group coaching from industry professionals, and rehearsing intensively for the live showcase.
The ceremony, which is available to stream through Thursday evening on Facebook and YouTube, has gained a cult following among theater lovers around the country, who relish seeing the group numbers and solo acts from both popular musicals like “Les Misérables” and “Into the Woods” and newer corners of the musical theater world (11 of this year’s nominees were selected on the strength of their performances in the teen edition of “Hadestown”).
The awards, which take their nickname from the producer and theater owner James M. Nederlander, have grown significantly in size since their founding 17 years ago. This year, tens of thousands of participants from approximately 2,600 high schools across the country were narrowed down, through regional awards programs, to the 116 nominees.
