The National High School Musical Theater Awards Announces 2013 Student Nominees

NEW YORK, June 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The National High School Musical Theater Awards (NHSMTA) is pleased to announce that 62 finalists selected from tens of thousands of students will compete for the coveted Jimmy™ Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress, scholarships and other honors at an event on Broadway to be hosted by the Tony Award^®-nominated stars of Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA, Laura Osnes (Cinderella) and Santino Fontana (the Prince).  The fifth annual performance showcase featuring dynamic ensemble and solo performances exclusively from the musical theater canon will take place on Monday, July 1, 2013 at 7:30pm at the Minskoff Theatre (200 W. 45th St).  Tickets, which range from $35-$179, are on sale at Ticketmaster.com.

Nominees qualified to compete in the national program by winning top honors this year at 31 regional high school musical awards competitions. These annual events involve more than 50,000 teens in cities across America and are sponsored by the country's leading performing arts organizations.

NHSMTA nominees will prepare for their "Broadway debut" at a five-day theater intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts' New Studio on Broadway faculty members Liz Callaway, Telly Leung, Michael McElroy, Leslie Odom, Jr., Schele Williams-Kleinberger plus other theater professionals. Winners will be selected by a panel of industry experts including Scott Ellis (multi-Tony Award^®-nominated director); Kent Gash (New Studio on Broadway, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama); Tony^® Award-nominee Montego Glover (Memphis); Rachel Hoffman (Telsey + Company); Alecia Parker (National Artists Management Company); Nick Scandalios (Nederlander Organization) and Bernie Telsey (Telsey + Company and MCC Theater).

Founded in 2009, NHSMTA's mission is to raise the profile of musical theater in schools, recognize dedicated teachers and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts.  Also known as The Jimmy™ Awards in honor of legendary Broadway producer/theater owner James M. Nederlander, the program has been the catalyst for more than $760,000 in educational scholarships made available to deserving students.  NHSMTA is produced by the Broadway Education Alliance and supported by many leading theater industry organizations including The Broadway League, BWF (Weissler) Foundation, Disney Theatrical Productions, Jujamcyn Theatres, Music Theatre International, the Nederlander Organization, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Pittsburgh CLO, Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, Samuel French Library, Shubert Organization, Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc., Ticketmaster and others. To learn more about the National High School Musical Theater Awards and/or to make a donation to the program, please visit nhsmta.com.

The 2013 National High School Musical Theater Awards participating theater organizations and their Nominees:

WHO'S WHO IN THE PROJECT

BROADWAY EDUCATION ALLIANCE (BEA) is a 501.c3 organization that serves as an independent catalyst for the development and implementation of national programs that serve local performing arts organizations and support theatre arts education and cultural studies for audiences of all ages. The National High School Musical Theater Awards is the organization's first national coalition presented to inspire creativity, build confidence, and stimulate critical thinking in American's youth. For more information, visit www.BroadwayEducationAlliance.org.

NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATER AWARDS (NHSMTA)/JIMMY™ AWARDS was founded in 2009 by Pittsburgh CLO and Nederlander Alliances LLC, under the leadership of James L. Nederlander, and is produced by the Broadway Education Alliance in association with Pittsburgh CLO. The program promotes the importance of theater arts programming in high schools, provides educational scholarships and creates a pathway for promising young performers to pursue a career in the professional theater industry. For more information, visit www.nhsmta.com.

NYU TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA integrates a combination of rigorous professional theatre training and broad-ranging academic education. In partnership with some of the country's foremost professional theatre training institutions, the program offers comprehensive theatre courses in acting, directing, musical performance, design, and theatre production. The program also offers an expansive and innovative academic curriculum. The faculty is composed of nationally and internationally recognized theatre artists, scholars, and theorists. The curriculum is further enriched by required courses in the humanities and social sciences. An extensive internship program connects students to the professional theatre community of New York City. The program is complemented by challenging and innovative productions that welcome guest artists from a range of culture and artistic perspectives. Graduates of the program include Alec Baldwin '94, Kristen Bell '02, Raul Esparza '92, Philip Seymour Hoffman '89, Bryce Dallas Howard '03, Felicity Huffman '88, Dan Jinks '85, Moises Kaufman '89, John Leguizamo '83, Michael Longoria '02, Idina Menzel '93, Molly Shannon '87, and Chandra Wilson '91.

Contact: Dan Dutcher (917-566-8413)
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Kristin Archbold (412-281-3973 x 221)
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SOURCE The National High School Musical Theater Awards