MTV True Life: I Went to the Jimmy Awards
June, being Pride month, marks the annual flocking to various gay Meccas: some queers journey to Fire Island, others to Provincetown, but my gay pilgrimage lands me in the belly of the beast that is Times Square at the Minskoff Theatre on a Monday night.
No, it’s not the Tonys, but to me, it’s still Broadway’s biggest night: the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, otherwise, and more famously, known as the Jimmy Awards: where stars are born. Vacated of its Lion King set pieces, the Minskoff makes room for the most committed, talented teenagers in America, chasing their name-in-lights dreams (and scholarship checks). It is the best thing on Planet Earth.
In 2012, I came down with some strain of the flu. In staying home from school, I scrolled through the public access cable channels, unsure of what I’d watch to make it through the day after The View (when my grandmother told me she no longer watched along every day it was December 2018, we were sitting in a Cracker Barrel in Northern Florida, and I felt like a distinct fiber of my life was snipped). I flipped to PBS and heard a teen, not much older than me, belting a show tune – something I was known to do all the damn time, clinging to lyrics like a lifeline. In fact, my mother once called me to the kitchen table to have a discussion about suicide because she thought some lines from Next to Normal I scrawled onto a whiteboard were a cry for help. I had to speak the sentence I actually don’t want to kill myself… but explaining Next to Normal to her felt far more absurd.
The teen on the TV was a part of a docuseries called Broadway or Bust, which chronicled the Jimmy Awards of that year, highlighting all the rehearsals and coaching that leads up to the big show. I ran to my laptop to see if I could start it from the beginning and watched all 3 parts in a hurried binge. I was instantly charmed by the premise, hooked by the talent, and on the edge of my seat anticipating the competition. From then on, I awaited the drop of annual Youtube videos (pre-Livestream days, baby), poised to judge the living hell out of everyone and feel the rush of unpasteurized happiness. It became a small, private tradition, something I barely (if ever) discussed with the other kids in my high school performing arts club, until I got to college and met people who also followed along. It became something I would start explaining and showing people against their will after a few beers. I’d be like okay, so there are these teens from around the country competing for scholarships and they qualify by winning regional competitions and look! This one is great because it’s a character medley where Sweeney Todd gets to interact with Horton from Seussical… and whoever it was I was showing would just blink at me until I wore myself out. In the few years they’ve been live streaming (and last year – a completely virtual showcase), I have twisted the arms of many beloved roommates into joining me on the couch – proving that the only magic secondary to the Jimmys themselves is watching someone open their hearts to it. I’m dead serious.
Before I launch us into a play-by-play of the evening, here’s what you need to know and watch (if you’re so inclined) to immerse yourself in the world of the Jimmys:
As mentioned, nominees qualify by winning for playing leading roles in various musicals at their regional award shows. Some of those nominees go on to reprise those roles in character medleys, where they act and sing the hell out of a few bars in the company of characters from other shows. Sometimes they arrange it so multiples of the same exact character interact. It is a fan favorite portion of the event - and a place many stars are born.
Optional viewing:
2016 Medley #4 - This medley has one of my favorite transitions – George from Sunday in the Park with George has just sung about his monomania about paining, the lifestyle of an overly devout artist, and more specifically, “finishing the hat” he’s working on, when Jamie from The Last Five Years tears in and sings with a wink, “some people analyze every detail,” to which the crowd roars with laughter. Tony Moreno who plays Jamie absolutely crushes, reinventing the character in such a small frame and moving with more purpose than I ever did as a teen on a stage.
2018 Medley #1 - From start to finish, these girls deliver – even their starting poses are elite. In theory, this group has likely finished up their BFAs this spring, so casting agents, get ready! Reneé Rapp has already starred on Broadway as Regina George in Mean Girls and has a lead role in Mindy Kaling’s HBO Max show The Sex Lives of College Girls. I wasn’t kidding when I said it’s a place stars are born.
2017 Medley #1 - I heard Antonio Cipriano sing 4 notes and immediately texted Michael: “this guy is going to be a star.” Lo and behold, he made his Broadway debut in the Alanis-filled Jagged Little Pill. I saw the opening night of previews at the American Repertory Theater in the spring of 2018, and after the show, we stage-doored, completely in awe of the star-studded cast. When Antonio came down the line, he told us it was his first time signing autographs, which was too adorable. I didn’t have it in me to say then that I’ve known he was “going to be a star” since the Jimmys, but I did eventually tell him when I saw the final night of the production. He was like, Oh… haha! Also, yes, I saw Jagged Little Pill four times… but that’s not what this is about!
2019 Medley #2 - One of the biggest snubs in Jimmys history goes to Elyse Bell, who absolutely slays as Jo March from Little Women in this medley. To not make her a finalist… I wish to have been a fly on the wall for the judges’ deliberation. She’s at Pace, so I’m not worried about her. She’s going to be a big star! So is Marisa Moenho. (Reader, the WWHL drinking word is: star.)
2012 Medley #4 - From the original year my Jimmys journey began! I remember feeling all the hair on my arms stand at attention watching the big moments for these teens after following along with their emotional rehearsal process. In interviews, Sabaa Sharma reveals that she was a later-in-life theatre kid, not one crawling out of the womb demanding to be sent to Stagedoor Manor. To see her absolutely shine singing “Waiting For Life” from Once On This Island was everything to me. Everything. Also Brooke Tate! C’mon now! I googled around and it looks like Sabaa has left the theater behind her and is gearing up to sit for the NY bar this July after graduating with her JD from Boston College Law School… okay, legend.
I could go on to list countless other medleys and breakout moments, but we’d be here for the next 48 hours minimum. In addition to medleys, the Jimmys usually pieces together 2 other numbers – one typically a tribute of some kind, and another composed with a specific message about the arts.
While it may seem like the character medley kids have an unfair advantage, all nominees also prepare a song to perform, should they be finalists. They perform them for the judges ahead of the show and all of this, plus how they do in the live show, are factored into who is selected as semi- and finalists.
After the massive group is whittled down to 16, it is then slashed a final time to 8. One by one, they leave it all out on the stage, more often than not, singing something composed by Jason Robert Brown, in the hopes of being named one of the 2 winners. Once winners are selected, they give an impromptu, cutie pie speech, accept their cartoonishly big checks, and everyone comes back out for a closing number.
Optional viewing (featuring many icons who have gone on to attend prestigious MT programs, originate roles, spearhead tours, and grace Broadway stages):
Eva Noblezada, finalist 2013 - singing “With You” from Ghost: The Musical
Andrew Barth Feldman, winner 2018 - singing “I Love Betsy” from Honeymoon in Vegas
Amina Faye, winner 2016 - singing “A New Life” from Jekyll & Hyde
Jasmine Rogers, finalist 2017 - singing “Easy as Life” from Aida
Sarah Lynn Marion, winner 2013 - singing “Raunchy” from 110 in the Shade
Kyle Selig, winner 2010 - singing “Streets of Dublin” from A Man of No Importance (if this sounds familiar, that’s because it is.)
So, after 10 years of being a fan, I finally got my hands on a pair of tickets for me and my best friend, Michael. Before the show, we grabbed never-ending soup, salad, and breadsticks at the Times Square Olive Garden, because that is just what you are meant to do before attending the Jimmys. I make the rules! The waiter (who looked like Charlie from Girls) asked me how old I was when I ordered a drink, and when I told him he made it seem like he didn’t believe me but was letting it slide. I was like, do you want to see my ID? And he was like no, no, no! winkingly… He heard us discussing the fact that The View is in the Bahamas this week and blurted out that he was supposed to go on a cruise to the islands, but instead watched the ship go up in flames. On our way out, Michael said some of his friends were texting, asking what the Jimmys were, and said, “it’s like trying to explain what water is.” I’ve never heard something so true.
We got into line earlier than anticipated, but because a real, true, honest line was FORMING. This is likely due to the fact that the audience is mostly comprised of loved ones related in some form to the actual nominees and stage moms are a lot of things… early is one of them! Immediately I felt panicked. Everyone was dressed like it was their wedding? I’m serious, every lady was in a ball gown. Washing my hands in the bathroom, I was surrounded by Prom Queens, while I, in my dyke uniform (white tank top, black Dickies), felt out of place and severely underdressed. For fuck’s sake, I had a $27-before-tip glass of Chardonnay in a plastic Irving Belin’s White Christmas commemorative cup in one hand and a playbill covered in the headshots of teenagers in the other… in what world would I have imagined I needed to rent the runway?
We killed some time before the ushers let us into the mezzanine by watching press interviews from a level above where the action was happening. When the aforementioned Andrew Barth Feldman waltzed up, I turned and squeezed Michael so hard, as if we had spotted a Kardashian. He took this photo of me and if you squint, you can see young Andrew, the prince of the Jimmys.
Seeing the show live for the first time was an out-of-body experience – I think I blacked out during the opening number. Michael and I devolved into giggling schoolgirls, shouting outbursts of glee as new musical themes were introduced with lyrics substituted to apply to the Awards (One short day in the EMPIRE city!). Sitting directly in front of me was the incredible David Carliner (who’s ‘stack you should subscribe to) and when he turned around at intermission to check in, the only word I could think to describe how I felt was “overwhelmed.” Being pummeled with optimism and talent and very little room to catch your breath in between those moments is quite the experience – it is relentlessly joyful.
The woman seated next to Michael turned to us as the applause erupted for the final solo moment of the final medley - Frank Abagnale Jr. in Catch Me If You Can - and shouted something to the effect of “HE’S OURS!!” and we were like “HE WAS SO GOOD” and then they did not return for Act II, which I took to mean they figured he would not be a finalist and they headed out. It was surreal to be seated within a sea of families and drama teachers, in addition to the other pop culture gays who share in the same delirium I do. It must be even stranger for those parents to see us skulking around with our little drinks, cackling to one another in pairs, not in formal wear.
There are too many sparkling highlights to name, too many star-making moments, and so I’ll instead direct you to one of my favorite Instagram accounts, all of which I co-sign:
I will say, however, that 3 out of the 8 songs performed by finalists, including one of the winners, were from Parade. I, emboldened by the expensive plastic cup of cheap wine, said not once, but twice, “if I wanted to see this much Parade, I’d just go on Instagram!” and now I’m saying it a third time, hoping it’ll land with someone, somewhere. So many of the people I follow have discount codes for that underwear. Is there a crossover audience for Parade/Parade jokes? Let me know if true.
In a desperate attempt to connect, I sent out a hailstorm of tweets about the Jimmys (despite this newsletter’s thesis being to tweet less!) and made my Twitter temporarily public for the first time in several years. These are some of those tweets:
They resulted in basically no engagement, which is fine! Who cares about Twitter when the teens of the Jimmy Awards took my weary heart in their hands and squeezed it till it burst into a cloud of confetti, letting out a perfect, manicured riff as it skittered to the ground like a popped balloon.
On the walk home, a gaggle of gay men were debriefing the show, and so were we, until one of them said loudly in earshot, “Wait, were you guys at the Jimmys?” We talked for 2 blocks about the finalist girls, debating the winner when all 4 of them easily could’ve been crowned, until it was time to turn, to which we said, “Bye! See you next year!” Chosen family much?
Theater teens, as cutthroat as they can be, are also sickly sweet. During one of the winner’s speeches, he cheered, “I love people!” and I felt my heart grow to a size I couldn’t dare find on the rack at Zara. At one point during a pre-recorded video, a nominee is fangirling about having been brought to see Moulin Rouge! (a lead sponsor this year) and speaking to its star, Derek Klena, after the show. “It was amazing being able to ask him a question and him TALK to me!” Michael and I started laughing - a laugh of recognition. As absurd as it is, at 17 I too would feel astonished by the prospect of someone with Broadway credits lowering themself to speak with me, a lowly teenager, but now that seems so silly. I want to grab these kids by the shoulders and tell them both “never change!” and “change immediately!” They’ll figure it out.
To keep momentum with the nurturing of the inner theatre kid, we woke up early Tuesday morning to eat bagels in the rush ticket line for this year’s Tonys Best Musical A Strange Loop and chased it with an excursion to the famous Drama Book Shop. Standing near the libretti section, I thumbed through to see if they had Parade, in honor of the night before, and said to Michael, “it looks like there’s no JRB…” and a girl next to me poked her head toward me like a seagull and squawked, “Do you mean Jason Robert Brown??” and flapped a songbook of The Last Five Years at me.
It’s moments like where I completely understand why people hate us, I really do. There’s always a know-it-all snark lying in wait to pounce on the next presumed poser. I felt myself do it exiting the theater during intermission at the Jimmys: someone turned to whoever they were with and said I can’t believe they didn’t do Sunday in the Park with George in the Sondheim tribute and I turned to Michael and said but they literally did. It’s sick and twisted, but what else could you expect from overgrown children who once shuddered at the idea of saying “Macbeth” instead of “the Scottish play” – so much of the foundation of being a good theatre kid is exercising the fact that you care enough to know all the details and traditions, treating them with a reverence and urgency similar to heart surgery, except it’s just about who replaced Sara Bareilles in Waitress and when Dogfight closed. I’ll say this: it’s not not a cult.
My prediction is that next year, the sponsoring musical will be the highly-anticipated adaptation of Almost Famous, starring Jimmys alumnus, Casey Likes. The kids will go and cry and be so thrilled to meet him, and Casey will have to duel Andrew Barth Feldman for the crowning position of “Prince of the Jimmys” but will most likely attend/present either way. A less strong position I have is that one of the non-medley sections will feature songs from musicals based on films for another Almost Famous plug. We will get breakout moments that mix and meld lines from The Band’s Visit, The Color Purple, Freaky Friday, Mean Girls, Big Fish, Waitress, Newsies, Moulin Rogue (who might instead be the lead musical sponsor once again, aggressively dashing my Casey Likes dream and duel) and the soon-to-be Back to the Future musical.
The strongest prediction I have is that Michael and I will return (maybe in fancier clothing? Jury is still out on that) and have yet another religious experience full of tears, laughter, and a deep, indescribable recognition. For all its sincerity and talent, all its cynicism and broken business, being a theatre-kid-turned-adult is a sickness and a salve. It sounds like Munchausen by proxy when I describe it like this, but what I truly mean in earnest is, despite its issues-at-large, there’s nothing else in the human experience quite like it. Watching the Jimmys gives access to the best parts of it, like revisiting a less pessimistic self – watching those kids with so much ahead of them (I say as if I might as well already be dead) and so much fire in their eyes… it’s jumper cables to the heart, really.
For highlights from the show, check out my favorite place on the internet, the Jimmys Youtube channel.
Winner Nicholas Barrón may have sang “This Is Not Over Yet” but this newsletter is now. I’m done. For real. I feel compelled to thank you for reading this one? So, thank you.
Big love,jimmysomethingkaylasomething