Local Students to Compete to Represent Rochester at the 2026 Jimmy Awards

Rochester, NY – 40 local high school students are preparing to compete to represent Rochester, NY at the 2026 National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (NHSMTA®), also known as the Jimmy Awards®. The Rochester Broadway Theatre League (RBTL) will host Stars of Tomorrow NYC Bound on Thursday, May 21 at the West Herr Auditorium Theatre, where two student performers will ultimately be selected to take part in the Jimmy Awards in New York City in June.

RBTL joins other professional theater organizations from across the country participating in the NHSMTA, which was founded by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO and Broadway Education Alliance (BEA) in 2009, with the goal of recognizing musical theatre in schools and inspiring the next generation of performers. “The Jimmy Award” is named in honor of James M. Nederlander, legendary Broadway theater owner and producer. In order to participate in the NHSMTA, professional theaters are required to be affiliated with The Broadway League.

Stars of Tomorrow NYC Bound is a local NHSMTA competition. The 40 students eligible this year received recognition for their performances in their high school musicals through RBTL’s Stars of Tomorrow arts education program. The 40 local student performers are:

• Avon High School: Quinn Kenyon

• Batavia High School: Gus Crawford

• Bishop Kearney: Parker Riordan

• Bloomfield Middle/High School: Avery Newstead

• Brighton High School: Sophie Pincus

• Dansville Central School: David Sick

• Eastridge High School: Jamaal Nico Bradley

• The Harley School: Marco DeAscentiis

• Hilton High School: Charizma Scott & Lia Turner

• Honeoye Falls-Lima High School: Ava Youngblut & Raegan Banker

• McQuaid Jesuit High School: Addison Childs & Nate Lynch

• Midlakes High School: Brian Cannan, Ellie Dorr & Justin Herman Jr.

• Mynderse Academy: Brody Tanner, Emily Brown & Sienna Love

• Newark High School: Addison Burgess & Kylie Gravino

• Our Lady of Mercy School: Katarina Szulgit

• Palmyra-Macedon School District: Havana Sullivan & Tyler D.W. Dranichak

• Penfield High School: Linkon Bode, Parker Gibbs & Stella Richard

• Pittsford Mendon High School: Addie Schulitz & Lillian Archer

• Pittsford Sutherland High School: Ainsley Teeters

• Rush-Henrietta High School: Andrew Smith, Nyah Wragg & Will Richardson

• Victor High School: Vivian Szymanowicz

• Webster Schroeder High School: Brody Walrath, Lilah Kastrinos & Rory Goodwin

• Williamson Senior High School: Nathan Brandt

• York Middle/High School: Sophia Hatfield

Each student is asked to prepare vocal selections to perform at Stars of Tomorrow NYC Bound, throughout several rounds of eliminations. The first preliminary round will be closed to the public and take place two days prior to Stars of Tomorrow NYC Bound. That round will be adjudicated by Broadway professional and LeRoy native, John Bolton (Anastasia, A Christmas Story: The Musical, Spamalot), and Rochester-based actor, director and private acting coach, J. Simmons. Then, on May 21, the performers moving on will be announced, and a panel of judges will adjudicate the final two rounds of the competition, ultimately choosing two performers to send to the 2026 Jimmy Awards. John Bolton will also judge the second and third round. He will be joined by stage, screen and voice artist, Desi Oakley (Chicago, Wicked, Waitress) and Broadway professional and head of Musical Theater at The Hybrid Agency, Sean McKnight (Anything Goes, Shrek, Curtains).

Beginning Monday, May 11, go to rochesterfirst.com to vote for your favorite local performer! At the NHSMTA national competition, students will participate in 10 days of coaching sessions, training and rehearsals led by some of Broadway’s most accomplished professionals. At the end of these 10 days, the students will perform a talent showcase at the Jimmy Awards, held at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City on Monday, June 22. Judges will bestow several awards and scholarships and then select two grand-prize winners for the Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress awards.

To learn more about NHSMTA, visit jimmyawards.com. To learn more about Stars of Tomorrow, Stars of Tomorrow NYC Bound and other RBTL arts education programs, visit rbtl.org.