2026 Jimmy Awards Discussion Thread

Watching here in Denver and rooting for Gillian and Grayson!



Nice, he opened the medley's.

Updated On: 6/22/26 at 07:47 PM

Only one of my favs made it to the finalists (Jake James - Atlanta, GA
Jacob; Water For Elephants High School Edition), but ... I almost also included Langston Casey - St. Louis, MO (Seymour Krelborn; Little Shop of Horrors) because I thought is vocals were unique on Suddenly Seymour, AND I loved his shy, demure take on Seymour.

Updated On: 6/22/26 at 10:24 PM

Congratulations to Jake James and Samia Posada, just named best actor and best actress.

Might be the most talented group they've ever had. We will be seeing many of them on Broadway. And Bowen was a perfect host.

I liked the show and the outcome. I wanted to see more of the girl who did Evita. One of the finalists, Emersyn Hunt goes to the Children’s Professional School in Manhattan and the red haired guy lives in Los Angeles so I like that the winners were from other places (Tucson and Atlanta).


..

MaxineElliott said: "I liked the show and the outcome. I wanted to see more of the girl who did Evita. "

I liked the first Evita (sang Buenos Aires in a floral print dress) better than the 2nd (she sang Rainbow High in a white designer dress).

Great show, as always. So many talented youngsters, excited to see where they all land.

I think both winners were the best of the bunch. I wish someone would help with song selection for the finalists because some of these songs are wayyyyy over these high school kids' heads. I think Samia picked the most relatable song for a high schooler, which is why she excelled (and of course had excellent vocals as well). I do find it confusing how students are able to attend the Jimmys multiple times - this was Samia's third time there, a finalist every year she appeared. Clearly she's great but it would be nice to spread the love around a bit....

It's always interesting to see what shows are common in high schools. Hadestown is clearly a favorite across the country....

I agree that a lot of the performances were fantastic and that Bowen Yang made a good host who didn’t try too hard.

I also dug down a short rabbit hole to learn more about the teen edition of Hadestown - which involves more key changes than substantive edits. I never knew that still-running Broadway musicals had teen editions that can only be licensed to teenage performers.

It’s not surprising that the teen edition would be popular with high school theater kids and teachers. It’s a relatively new show, based on classic text, that has five terrific parts and as many ensemble roles as needed.

HenryTDobson said: " I wish someone would help with song selection for the finalists because some of these songs are wayyyyy over these high school kids' heads. I think Samia picked the most relatable song for a high schooler, which is why she excelled (and of course had excellent vocals as well). I do find it confusing how students are able to attend the Jimmys multiple times - this was Samia's third time there, a finalist every year she appeared. Clearly she's great but it would be nice to spread the love around a bit....."


What makes the song selection piece interesting is that [I saw a video yesterday saying that] the kids bring four potential options for the final round and are coached/judged by adjudicators in the week leading up to the competition… one would think that the adjudicators would discourage, for example, a teenage girl singing “I Miss The Mountains” (though I do think she did it well).

And regarding the point of students competing more than once, I have long wondered how this is possible as well- just the odds of playing a Jimmy-qualifying role in itself are incredibly low! And then making it through all of the hurdles and rounds after that… it’s like winning the lottery multiple times!

bwaylvsong1 said: "just the odds of playing a Jimmy-qualifying role in itself are incredibly low! "

There's no such thing as a "Jimmy-qualifying role". It's the students' performances that qualify them for one of the various scholarships/awards.

John Adams said: "bwaylvsong1 said: "one would think that the adjudicators would discourage, for example, a teenage girl singing “I Miss The Mountains” (though I do think she did it well)."

That would be the exact opposite of their function as coaches.



To discourage a student from the choice they have made would be essentially manipulating an outcome (by removing/replacing the choice made by the student and interfering with a suggestion from an "ouside" source).

"

I agree with this in theory, but the students are asked to bring 4 selections- it would have been completely within the parameters of the competition for the coaches to ask for another piece during the work sessions.

bwaylvsong1 said: "HenryTDobson said: "I wish someone would help with song selection for the finalists because some of these songs are wayyyyy over these high school kids' heads. I think Samia picked the most relatable song for a high schooler, which is why she excelled (and of course had excellent vocals as well). I do find it confusing how students are able to attend the Jimmys multiple times - this was Samia's third time there, a finalist every year she appeared. Clearly she's great but it would be nice to spread the love around a bit....."


What makes thesong selection piece interesting is that [I saw a video yesterday saying that] the kids bring four potential options for the final round and are coached/judged by adjudicators in the week leading up to the competition… one would think that the adjudicators would discourage, for example, a teenage girl singing “I Miss The Mountains” (though I do think she did it well).

And regarding thepoint of students competing more than once, I have long wondered how this is possible as well- just the odds of playing a Jimmy-qualifying role in itself are incredibly low! And then making it through all of the hurdles and rounds after that… it’s like winning the lottery multipletimes!"

"I Miss the Mountains" was certainly a better choice than "Your Daddy's Son", which, although sung well, requires so much dexterity as an actress that's not available to a teenager.

Adding to the discussion of eligible roles, there are many schools that don't provide eligibility at all, either.

Updated On: 6/23/26 at 10:50 AM