As another wildly eventful Tonys season comes to a close, theatre kids everywhere shouldn’t distress. Just around the corner is another one of Broadway’s biggest nights: the Jimmy Awards!
On June 22, the 17th Annual National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards, will commence at the Minskoff Theatre, hosted by Bowen Yang.
This national talent showcase features nominated musical theatre students from around the country. Each Jimmy nominee stems from a participating regional awards ceremony that chooses two young performers to be sent to New York for a one-week intensive. It all culminates in a special evening of performances from hundreds of students on the Broadway stage. The talented youngsters sing in a series of ensemble medleys, with finalists for Best Performance by an Actor or Actress advancing to perform solo pieces of their choosing.
The Jimmys network is ever-expanding, and has led to some of Broadway’s biggest stars. Over 90 Jimmys alumni have been seen on the Broadway stage and in touring productions since its founding in 2009, including Eva Noblezada (The Great Gatsby), McKenzie Kurtz (Schmigadoon!), and Bryson Battle (Cats: The Jellicle Ball).
Flip through the gallery below to see which other Jimmys alumni you can catch shining bright on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage right now.
The 2026 Jimmy Awards will also stream for free beginning at 7:30 PM ET. Streaming links and information will be available at JimmyAwards.com prior to the ceremony, which will remain available online through the evening of June 25. (American Sign Language interpretation will be provided during the awards, and live closed captions will be available through the “CC” feature on the primary YouTube stream.)
The National High School Musical Theatre Awards, known as The Jimmy Awards, were founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO, and Broadway Education Alliance. Named for late Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, the mission of the NHSMTA is to advance a national conversation about the importance of arts education, honor teachers and their schools’ commitment to performing arts education, and contribute to the development of future arts workers and audiences for live performing arts in communities across America.
Presented by The Broadway League Foundation Inc., the program impacts over 180,000 students who participate in regional high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of Touring Broadway productions throughout the country. The 2026 Jimmy Awards anticipates welcoming 116 nominees from 58 cities across the country. To date, the awards have been the catalyst for more than $9 million in educational scholarships.
The Jimmy Awards will launch a digital lottery powered by Broadway Direct. A limited number of $110 tickets will be available for the ceremony. The lottery is currently accepting entries through June 10 at noon ET. (Once the lottery closes, winners will be notified within minutes and will have 60 minutes to claim and pay for tickets. Seat locations and number of tickets awarded by the lottery are subject to availability. Lottery seats may be minimally obstructed; there is a limit of one entry per person and limit of two tickets per entry.) Entry instructions can be found by clicking here.