Jimmy Awards tonight 6/24 at the Minskoff

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 9:40am

You can watch the show free on YouTube starting at 7:30 ET. 

https://www.jimmyawards.com/news/

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 9:50am

I’ll be watching, even if only for the opening number. 

Perhaps our next Ponyboy can be found among tonight’s nominees?

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 7:24pm

Starting soon! Here is the YouTube link

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z2HbKpRWp8

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 7:48pm

The Tonys can only wish they had an opening number as grand as THAT this year.

That moment with all the Our Times — chef's kiss.

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 10:39pm

A warm congratulations to Damson Chola Jr. and Gretchen Shope for taking home top honors tonight! 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Gretchen-Shope-and-Damson-Chola-Jr-Win-at-The-2024-Jimmy-Awards-20240624

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 10:55pm

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 6/24/24 at 10:56pm

 

[Sammy232]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 8:29am

Rumpelstiltskin said: "

I love Ragtime and this video gave me absolute chills. What an incredible performance from someone so young. 

"

 

[SeanD2]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 9:23am

Is it just me or is it a bit scary the emphasis the theater community is putting on the Jimmy Awards at this point? These are high school kids in what's supposed to be educational theater. 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 9:37am

SeanD2 said: "Is it just me or is it a bit scary the emphasis the theater community is putting on the Jimmy Awards at this point? These are high school kids in what's supposed to be educational theater."

How should the community react? "eh, it's whatever"???

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 9:41am

SeanD2 said: "Is it just me or is it a bit scary the emphasis the theater community is putting on the Jimmy Awards at this point? These are high school kids in what's supposed to be educational theater."

It’s important to emphasize the high school level because a lot of young people have the talent but don’t see a path to a career and never go to college for theatre, never go to NYC, etc. the encouragement to continue pursuing that path either in college or professionally and to see it is possible is so important. Musical theatre in general is very physically demanding and something you need to do when you’re young and can do 8 shows a week on Broadway or on a national tour. 

[RagtimeRevivalPlease]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 11:12am

SeanD2 said: "Is it just me or is it a bit scary the emphasis the theater community is putting on the Jimmy Awards at this point? These are high school kids in what's supposed to be educational theater."

Honestly, I have felt a similar unease about the Jimmy Awards. Don't get me wrong, it's valuable and important to uplift the talents of people at this age. Other high school pursuits can lead to a national stage (I think of televised HS baseball or cheerleading) and can act as a avenue towards a professional career or higher education - it's great to have something like that for theatre. 

 

However,  I can't help but see the Jimmys as exacerbating inequities that already exist in this industry. To perform at that level, or to have the awareness to do so, in what should be an educational setting often requires extra training and connections that many can't afford. It requires going to the right, appropriately funded high school that can put on productions of the right caliber AND get noticed by the community at large, a school that hasn't left its arts department to wither, which is rare in the US. Even schools that are well-off financially can disregard theatre, or a school's leadership within its theatre department can often be mismanaged or be exclusive.

I also wonder if the pressure to have kids go through this funnel will create a "sameness" in upcoming generations of performers the way, in my opinion, that some undergrad MT programs do. But I'm rambling now.

 

The Jimmys have produced some of my favorite talent in recent years no doubt. And there's obviously no easy way to fix or even address those concerns above. But they will continue to keep me from putting 100% of my support behind them until it becomes more widely acknowledged.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 11:21am

I feel along the similar lines, it's fantastic for young performers to get a chance to experience this and connect with other talented performers around the country (and it looks like they got to go to the Tonys too!), but I know for my hometown high school (which has sent a few people to the Jimmy Awards), they needed to provide tickets to voters for the local awards, similar to the Tonys, and there was a certain level of overhead to make sure their productions were considered.  The other thing I'm concerned about is that with all the recent successes of people directly from the Jimmy Awards (Renee Rapp, Andrew Barth Feldman, even back to Eva Noblezada, etc) I wonder if there's more pressure on the kids (especially the winners) to think that they need to get a job on Broadway right now since so many other Jimmy winners have.

On the other hand, I can't deny that it's been interesting to see the growth of these performers and to look back at their past performances once they do make it to Broadway.  There have been names I see resurface later in Broadway/touring casts where I remember seeing them on the Jimmys and find it exciting they've found a career path in theater.

[Will3700]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 11:33am

I totally understand where you are coming from but the two students representing Broadway Dallas went to Cleburne High school and Tyler Legacy High School and both are public schools that emphasize football more than the Arts. And Damson Chola Jr from Cleburne which is near Ft Worth won. Sometimes talent is found in the unlikely places.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 11:38am

Every regional awards handles its nominees differently, but from what I’ve personally observed, they do treat the selection process as educational experiences. I’ve heard similar things about the Jimmys. What we don’t see is the week leading up to the awards, the rehearsals and master classes and coaching sessions that everyone has the opportunity to participate in. While the awards themselves are hyped up in a way, I don’t think we’ve seen many cookie-cutter-type winners, and it always seems like the group is so supportive of each other. Until we see and hear otherwise, I like to think that this is a very positive experience for all.

They did not have the Jimmys back in my day, but I’ve since seen students from my old high school getting pretty far in the process of the respective regional award, and I’ll admit I did not come from a fancy theatre department or school. 

Congrats to the two winners! They can certainly deliver a powerhouse 11:00 number.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 8:21pm

‘I Might Be Real-Life Good at This’: Shooting for Broadway at the Jimmy Awards 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/25/theater/jimmy-awards-high-school-theater.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2k0.qvGX.F8qccFBZat0j