Emmy-nominated comedian, actor, writer, podcast host, and Titaníque co-producer Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live, Wicked, Las Culturistas) hosts the 17th annual Jimmy Awards, celebrating high school musical theatre talent, June 22 at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre.
The
2026 Jimmy Awards will also stream for free beginning at 7:30 PM ET on Youtube. Watch the complete ceremony in the video above. The video 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.)
Video: Get an Inside Look at Rehearsals for the 2026 Jimmy Awards
“We
are thrilled to welcome Bowen Yang as host of the 2026 Jimmy Awards.
Bowen’s creativity, humor, and enthusiasm for the talent on the Jimmy
Awards stage make him an ideal champion for this program. Through his
work across television, film, podcasting, and live entertainment, he has
built a unique career that reflects the power of talent, authenticity,
and originality. We are excited for our nominees from across the country
to share the stage with him as we celebrate their achievements and
recognize the next generation of theatre artists,” said Jason Laks, president of The Broadway League, in an earlier statement.
The
Jimmy Awards is the national talent showcase that features ensemble and
solo performances from musical theatre talent from around the country.
Each participating Regional Awards
Program awards top honors to two local student performers and sponsors
their travel to New York to participate in the annual ceremony.
A panel of judges bestow awards and
scholarships, including the awards for Best Performance by an Actor and
Best Performance by an Actress. The Jimmy Awards play a leading role in
charting the future of the live performance industry, with over 90
alumni having performed on Broadway and in national tours and numerous
others enjoying careers in film, television, and music.
Meet the 2025 Jimmy Award Winners: Fabiola Caraballo Quijada and Chris Hayes
Coaching this year’s nominees were Lisa Brescia, Janet Dacal,
Colin Hanlon, MaryAnn Hu, Adam Kantor, Lily Kaufmann, Adam J. Levy, Desi
Oakley, Eliseo Román, Lawrence Stallings, Steven Telsey, and EJ
Zimmerman.
This year’s panel of judges includes Tony-winning producers, casting experts,
and industry leaders: Winners and finalists will be selected by Montego
Glover, Kenny Leon, Joe Machota, Alecia Parker, Marc Platt, Tara Rubin,
Thomas Schumacher, Bernard Telsey, and Lia Vollack. Preliminary judges
who adjudicated and cast the nominees in the Character and Feature
Groups include Kristian Charbonier, Stephanie Klapper, Sammy Lopez,
Kevin Metzger-Timson, Dale Mott, T. Oliver Reid, and Rachel Sussman.
Tony nominee Charlotte d’Amboise, who has played Roxie Hart
in numerous engagements in the long-running Broadway revival of Chicago, taught a masterclass on the musical’s choreography and spent a few days rehearsing the nominees. This will culminate in a
performance numbers from the Kander and Ebb musical featuring Fosse’s
original choreography during the ceremony, honoring the revival’s 30th anniversary. Chicago music director John Bell has created an original arrangement for this performance.
The evening will also feature appearances from Samuel Nelson III and Mason Alexander Park.
The creative team is led by ceremony director Van Kaplan and music supervisor Geoffrey Ko. Ko has also arranged and will music direct the
opening number, which serves as a tribute to the 2026 Broadway season and is directed and choreographed by Luis Salgado. The same team will also
choreograph the closing number. The infamous “character medleys” will be
directed by Kaplan and choreographed by Theo Lencicki, with Jon
Bauerfeld, Wendy Bobbitt Cavett, Steven Cuevas, Michael A. Ferrara, and
Noah Teplin providing musical arrangements featuring 40 nominees
performing selections from the roles they played in their high school
productions.
The 2026 Jimmy Awards creative team is rounded out by lighting designer Karen Spahn, sound designer Nick Borisjuk, projection designer
Brad Peterson, costume coordinator Rebecca Ming, and writer Jill Twiss.
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.
Visit JimmyAwards.com.