They are right here, world! Last night, the nominees for the 2023 Jimmy Award gave outstanding performances at the Minskoff Theatre. The energy in the room was electric as 96 secondary school understudies from around the nation put all that they had into the one-night-just show, and the crowd ejected with cheers at each an open door. After all, where else can you see The Phantom of the Opera serenading Fanny Brice on a Broadway stage, both played by astonishingly talented teenagers? The Jimmys are absolutely one of the most incomparable nights in the theatre community.
The honors are introduced in two demonstrations. The primary demonstration is a progression of exhibitions with every one of the 96 chosen people, which incorporates enormous gathering numbers and four person mixtures — where little gatherings of understudies each sing a section as the person they were named for. Eight semifinalists and eight finalists are chosen by a panel of judges for act two. Each winner receives a scholarship. The finalists will then perform a solo song that they worked on for a week with coaches and mentors to perfect. Finally, the two nominees for the Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor or Actress are selected by the judges.
Langston Lee and Lauren A. Marchand were this year’s winners, each receiving a $25,000 scholarship. Marchand and Lee enchanted the crowd from the subsequent they each showed up in character mixtures the entire way to their large wins. After the winners had left the stage, Playbill went to the after party to catch up with them. Yes, it was as happy and Crucible-like as you would expect.