2019 Jimmy Awards

Ethan Kelso

Logan, UT

The 2019 Jimmy® Award for Best Performance by an Actor was presented to Ethan Kelso representing the Utah High School Musical Theatre Awards.

Ekele Ukegbu

New York, NY

The 2019 Jimmy® Award for Best Performance by an Actress was presented to Ekele Ukegbu representing The Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance.

View the 2019 Nominees

Download the Playbill

About the Event

The 2019 Jimmy Awards® took place on Monday, June 24, 2019 at 7:30pm at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway, presented by The Broadway League Foundation. Ben Platt hosted.

The coveted Jimmy Awards for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor were presented to Ekele Ukegbu,The Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance (New York, NY) and Ethan Kelso, Utah High School Musical Theatre Awards (Logan, UT).

2019 Jimmy Awards Host Ben Platt

This year, the entire show was streamed live on Facebook and YouTube, brought to you by The Broadway League Foundation and 2017 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Dear Evan Hansen. Apples and Oranges Arts was the livestream and video production partner.  The official media partner was WABC-TV. 

The Jimmy Awards are named in honor of the late James M. Nederlander, Chairman of Nederlander Producing Company of America. Both winners were presented with a check for $25,000 to further their education. They will also be eligible for a four-year merit and need-based scholarship to attend NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama, contingent upon acceptance into the program.

Six finalists each received a $5,000 scholarship toward their future education:

• Jessi Kirtley, Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards - The Shuler Hensley Awards (Atlanta, GA)      
• Casey Likes, ASU Gammage High School Musical Theatre Awards (Tempe, AZ)
• Lexie Love, The 5th Avenue Theatre Awards (Seattle, WA)
• Colin Miller, The Enchantment Awards (Albuquerque, NM)
• Marisa Moenho, The Lucie Arnaz Awards (Palm Springs, CA)
• Christian Spaay, The Jerry Awards (Madison, WI)

Additional awards winners received a $2,000 scholarship each:

Best Dancer, presented by The Shubert Organization    

• Anna Gassett, St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards (St. Louis, MO)

Spirit of the Jimmys, presented by Hollywood Pantages Theatre

• Adam Kral, Tommy Tune Awards (Houston, TX)

Best Performance in an Ensemble, presented by Disney Theatrical Productions

• Senna Prasatthong-osoth, Broadway Star of the Future (Tampa, FL)

Rising Star, presented by The John Gore Organization

• Jacob Simon, Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards (Chicago, IL)

Special Recognition Scholarships:

• Jack D’Angelo, Stars of Tomorrow (Rochester, NY)          
• William Dusek, Spotlight Education (Minneapolis, MN)
• Chloe Elmer, The Monte Awards: Southern Arizona’s Musical Theatre Finals (Tucson, AZ)
• Jeremy Fuentes, The Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance (New York, NY)
• Michael Iskander, Spirit of the MACY Awards (La Mirada, CA)     
• Abby Linderman, The Bobby G Awards (Denver, CO)       
• Mia Hall, Stars of Tomorrow (Rochester, NY)          
• Sophia Wilson, Nevada High School Musical Theater Awards (Las Vegas, NV)

Matthew Hinson (Charlotte, NC) and Tasha Partee (Woodmere, NY) received the Inspiring Teacher Award sponsored by Wells Fargo for the encouragement and inspiration that led their students to win the 2018 Jimmy Awards for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor.

At the ceremony George Salazar (Be More Chill) presented the nominee production number, a tribute to musicals about musicals. Jimmy Awards alumni Kyle Selig (Mean Girls) and Stephanie Styles presented the Week in Review Video. Last year’s Jimmy Awards winners and current Broadway stars Andrew Barth Feldman (Dear Evan Hansen) and Reneé Rapp (Mean Girls) presented the Inspiring Teacher Award Presented by Wells Fargo which features their respective teachers. Also making a special appearance at the ceremony was Derek Klena (Jagged Little Pill) who introduced the second production number, a celebration of the 15th anniversary of Wicked on Broadway.

Judges were comprised of notable theatre professionals including Tony Award-winning producers, award-winning casting experts and industry professionals. The evening of the performance, winners will be selected by Nathan Flower, Montego Glover, Alecia Parker,Marc Platt, Tara Rubin, Tom Schumacher, Stephen Schwartz, and Bernie Telsey. Preliminary judges who evaluated nominees prior to the ceremony included Gabriel Barre, Robert Cuccioli, Nathan Flower, Stephanie Klapper, and Seth Sklar-Heyn.

The production was directed by Van Kaplan and choreographed by Kiesha Lalama. Michael Moricz was the musical arranger and conductor, and Mary Jane Brennan was the writer. All four have been with the Jimmy Awards for all 11 years of the program. The Wicked tribute was arranged by Ben Cohn with special guest Director/Choreographer Wayne Cilento.