Recent Coronado High School and Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) graduate Addison Nesbitt was one of two San Diego students to win the Broadway San Diego Awards and advance to the Jimmy Awards competition in New York City. The Jimmy Awards are the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, held annually to provide top performing arts students from across the United States the opportunity to learn and perform in a professional setting on Broadway.
Nesbitt has grown up and attended schools in Coronado since her family moved here when she was in third grade, and her love of theater began early on in her life. “My dad always did theater,” she said of her inspiration. “He was a part of the men’s glee club at the Naval Academy, and he was always doing shows. My first show was actually one of his, ‘Hairspray,’ I think.”
Since then, Nesbitt has been part of numerous shows in Coronado, starting with a production of “Willy Wonka” and later joining her elementary school’s choir. She also participated in the Advanced Performing Arts program at Coronado Middle School and CoSA at Coronado High School.
“My sophomore year I got to play Aunt March in ‘Little Women,’” Nesbitt mentioned. “She’s like the mean, old aunt and gets to have some pretty cool operatic moments when she sings. That overall experience and getting to work with everyone on that show was so amazing and so fun. I’ve also done the ‘Addams Family,’ was a featured dancer in ‘Pippin,’ and I was the Cheshire Cat in ‘Alice by Heart.’”
Her final production in CoSA before graduating was as Katherine, the mom in “Freaky Friday” who, for a large portion of the show, is actually the daughter trapped within Katherine’s body. “So I’m the mom, who acts like the daughter, which was one of the most fun roles to perform that I’ve ever had. Especially because I got to be funny and make the audience laugh,” Nesbitt said. It was also her performance as Katherine that started her journey to the Jimmy Awards.
To be nominated to compete in New York City, students first have to compete in their respective Regional Awards Program, like the Broadway San Diego Awards. To qualify for the Broadway San Diego Awards, Nesbitt had to be in a school show that qualified for the competition (which CoSA’s production of “Freaky Friday” did) and then be nominated by her director. After that, representatives from Broadway San Diego attended one of the show’s performances to review Nesbitt.
“I got a call back from Broadway San Diego and went and auditioned before a panel,” she explained. Nesbitt, along with two other CoSA students (Julia Davidson and Amanda Nurding), were among the 20 young actors selected to compete in the Awards from across San Diego County.
After an intensive week of rehearsals, Nesbitt performed two songs in front of a panel of judges and performed in the two group numbers. “Those were pretty hefty routines,” Nesbitt said. “The closing number was about ten minutes long, and the opening number was ‘One Short Day’ from ‘Wicked,’ which was funny because our host for the Jimmy Awards was Bowen Yang, so that was almost like a precursor Easter Egg to that.”
Nesbitt’s performances struck the right chord with the judges, which included her rendition of “Parents Lie” from “Freaky Friday.”
“In the song, the daughter (still in her mom’s body) is telling her little brother, ‘Hey, parents lie. You think your mom is so great, but she lies a lot,’” Nesbitt explained. “Some of the lines are pretty funny, but then there are also sweet moments, as well as pretty heart-wrenching moments. ‘They lie with words, they lie with hugs,’ and lines like that. It’s a song that I think shows a great range of feeling in the communication between the character and her brother.”
Nesbitt won the Broadway San Diego Best Actress Award, securing her spot at the Jimmy Awards in June alongside Téo Levy from the San Diego School of Creative & Performing Arts, who won the Best Actor Award.
“This was my first time experiencing New York City,” Nesbitt noted. “We landed Friday, arriving at the Juilliard dorms, and then Saturday and Sunday we got to know everyone. We did a dance audition, a dance call, workshops, and stuff like that. We also met the creative team and were given a preliminary coaching session where we got to work with industry professionals on the song that we were going to perform for the judges.”
Similarly to the competition in San Diego, the students at the Jimmy Awards had the opportunity to perform one minute of a character song and a contrasting song of their choice. “The morning of the competition, we performed our contrasting song for the judges, and then they would ask you an interview question,” she mentioned. “My interview question was, ‘Why did you choose this song?’
“I chose to perform ‘I’m Here,’ from ‘The Color Purple,’ because it’s a song that is super close to my heart and one where my own experiences helped power that song emotionally,” Nesbitt said.
Prior to the competition show, which was held in the Minskoff Theatre, the students also auditioned for preliminary placement in either the character group or the feature group. Performers in the character group worked on five character medleys created for the show, while performers in the feature group rehearsed for a themed group number. All competitors also learned and performed in the competition’s show-stopping opening and closing numbers.
“For the feature group this year, we did a tribute to ‘Chicago,’ as the show’s 30th anniversary is this year,” Nesbitt told me. “We actually got to work with Charlotte d’Amboise, who played Roxie in ‘Chicago’ for more than ten years. We also had a few monologues that we auditioned for, which was really fun. I was told that I make good choices, which I think is a good thing,” she added with a laugh.
During the week leading up to the show, Nesbitt described the rigorous days of learning choreography, harmonies, and all of the aspects that go into bringing a professional production to life. “We started the day working on the opening number with Luis Salgado. Then we were split into our groups, and the feature group got to work with the acting music director on Broadway for ‘Chicago’ for our medley.
“There were also a lot of opportunities for us to go to career talks, including a tour of Lincoln Center where we got to go on stage and learn about their production of ‘Ragtime,’ and with one of the composers for ‘Water for Elephants,’” she continued. When she learned how demanding the job of being a music director is, she followed up with the ‘Chicago’ music director, leading them through the featured number to learn more.
Another highlight was being in New York City during the Juneteenth celebration, and the theme that revolved around the principles of support. “We had a Juneteenth speaker panel, and they discussed how important it is to advocate for yourself and the people next to you. Being able to come into the room and know that you have value and you have the power to make yourself comfortable in a situation is so important,” she said.
“Hearing these pieces of advice from industry professionals who have been performing, producing, and participating in things on Broadway for so long was invaluable,” Nesbitt added.
Participants connected with one of the Juneteenth events in the city, produced and performed by Suzan-Lori Parks. “It was the first one I’ve been to, and it was really amazing,” she said of the show. “It featured a notable playwright who has received multiple Pulitzer Prizes for her writing. She put together this performance where it was seeing how art exists within the Black experience. I’m so grateful to the chaperones who were able to organize that.”
In addition to a nighttime tour of the city learning about its history, the group visited Times Square where they could see their headshots lit up among the billboards for the Jimmy Awards and see “MJ The Musical,” Nesbitt said, “Beforehand we had dinner with some of the cast members who performed after at the show that night, and after we got to do a ‘talk back’ with them at the theater. Learning about how the show was created while being able to speak with the director was such an amazing experience that, again, I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to do.”
Nesbitt also earned recognition as one of the “Showstopper” awardees for individual artistic excellence in the group performance. The Jimmy Awards were performed in front of a live audience at Minskoff with about 1,500 people, and were livestreamed with over 100,000 viewers tuning in live (theater legends included).
“Being able to see my name that big on a Broadway stage, and my friend sending me a screenshot of the livestream [when my name was announced for that award]? The whole experience has been so surreal. Mostly I just remember doing this little happy dance/run up there,” she said. “Having such a supportive environment where yes, it was a competition, but it didn’t feel like a competition is what made it such an awesome experience. It was new friends coming together and creating a show.
“And I think all theater, really, is a collaborative effort. If not between an ensemble, between the actors and the tech team, or the actors and the director…there’s always a team behind it. So it was a great place to realize how much of a team we are, as creatives, and how important it is to lift each other up and make sure everyone is okay and thriving. That’s what makes a good show.
“I’d say the main thing that I’ve taken away from the Jimmy Awards is that your attitude is so important, no matter what’s happening,” she added. “Coming into the room with respect and humility is so important, as is coming in with an open mind and wanting to learn from everyone, and I mean everyone. I think that we need to go into spaces with that thirst to learn more often, no matter how old we are. And I hope to keep that perspective because there’s always something you can learn; you just have to listen.”
Nesbitt has kept in touch with many of the friends she’s made through these experiences. “We were told by a lot of people that these are the people we would be working with for the rest of our lives, and I am so thankful for that because these people are so cool, so awesome, and so talented – but also really kind.”
When Nesbitt won the Broadway San Diego Best Actress Award, she also received automatic admission to San Diego State University’s Theater Bachelor of Arts program. “I was already planning on going to SDSU anyway for their Hospitality and Tourism Management program,” she added. “Now I’m excited to pursue a double major and keep musical theater as a part of my life and something that brings me joy.” She’s also considering how the two majors may overlap, and was inspired by one of her fellow Jimmy Awards participants to consider a possible cruise study abroad or internship experience to perform and be a staff member, with the added bonus of traveling.
“I would love to work in a musical theater space, if that turns into a career for me, especially in San Diego because there are so many amazing opportunities for that,” Nesbitt told me. “And I want to thank all of the CoSA teachers and everyone in Coronado who has been in my corner. Especially David McBean for always being a listening ear and such a kind person to work with and Kimberly Stassburger, who’s been an amazing teacher. And really to everyone in the community that has been cheering me on for so long, I’m so thankful for that support.”
VOL. 116, NO. 28 – July 15, 2026