jimmy awards celebrate first decade

The high school musical competition, which launched the career of many Broadway actors, has almost never succeeded.
A few hours later, the Tony Award
Award-winning actress Laura benlanti will host the 10 th Jimmy award ceremony at the Minsk theater.
The ceremony will showcase some of the best performances in the national high school musical program, and 80 talented students will bow for the first time on the Broadway stage.
Representing the highest achievement of the high school musical, The Jimmy award is based on a smaller competition held in 1991 by Gene Kelly and Pittsburgh Folk light opera, aiming to highlight the best music theater in Pittsburgh --
District High School.
Kelly, who had dreamed of playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, recalled: \"He believes that the factors of competition will make your efforts better than you think . \" Executive producer of Pittsburgh CLO
The Pittsburgh project shared its blueprint with several other regional theaters, and soon similar matches began to appear around the United States.
\"We should find a way to turn it into a national project,\" Kaplan said . \".
But Kaplan\'s idea is still just an ideal vision until a few years later with Susan Lee, the former chief marketing officer of Nederlander\'s organization.
Li mentioned that it was a life for her niece to attend the Pittsburgh awards ceremony.
Change the experience.
Kaplan replied, \"I have this idea . \" Li invited him to her office.
Lee revealed that Nederlander has been seeking to launch some kind of initiative in honor of its longtime leader, James M.
Ned Land, 86years-old.
As we all know, \"Jimmy\" is an amazing mentor to Kaplan, and the producers have come up with the idea of creating a national high school musical competition called the Jimmy award.
Lee liked the offer and then Kaplan asked Nederlander if he could set up a project for him.
\"Of course, kid,\" replied the executive at his climax. pitched voice.
Karlan smiled and said, \"I want to do it in the palace.
\"The Palace Theatre, located in the heart of Times Square, was the first theater that Ned Rand purchased when he built the Broadway real estate empire in 1964.
Nick skantarios, executive vice president of the company, thought for a moment.
\"You know,\" he replied, \"it\'s a good idea and will be lovely in the palace.
\"But I think you really want Minskoff,\" he said . \". “Why? ” asked Kaplan.
He has always dreamed of hosting a national awards ceremony at the historic Palace theater.
\"The Lion King will always be in Minskoff and you never know what will happen in the palace,\" explains Scandalios . \".
The theater\'s stage light and sound system equipment will not change year by year, making it easier to produce the annual awards gala there.
It\'s like returning home after a long holiday.
But Kaplan had trouble raising money for the Jimmy prize, and it looks like the whole project may need to be delayed or abandoned.
\"We have experienced the financial crisis,\" Kaplan recalls . \"
It is not ideal to seek donations during the Great Recession of 2008, and this unprecedented project has no reputation.
Kaplan met with Ned Land to discuss the status of the Jimmy award, and the two men decided to continue the project.
\"It took us a year to build excitement locally and in the region, to get people to come, to get New York University involved, and to put all the parts together,\" Kaplan said . \".
\"If we don\'t do this year, then it won\'t happen,\" the leader agreed . \".
Kaplan said that the first Jimmy prize refused to throw in the towel, but was presented at the New York University skirting center because \"we don\'t know what we have . \".
He said that there were only 32 players from the 16 regional theater competitions, \"We thought, \'We do that and let people see it and then we move.
The Jimmy award was a huge success, with recordings of medley performances by its contestants all over the Internet.
At 2012, PBS even premiered a prime-
A time documentary series on Broadway or Bust about the national competition.
With thousands of high school students watching videos every year, Kaplan observed that \"the kids are getting better and better.
\"We see that, especially after PBS special, students are more prepared technically and emotionally,\" he said . \".
2014, charity of the national trade association of the Broadway Union
Make the Tony Award and participate in the management of the Jimmy award.
\"The founders feel that they have developed the project as much as they can,\" recalls Charlotte St. , president of the project. Martin.
\"They want it to be more national and the Broadway alliance has national capabilities and more than 700 members in the United States,\" she said . \".
Since then, the national program has expanded to include contestants from 40 different regional theater competitions.
\"In fact, we have to refuse some because there are only so many people on the stage,\" St.
Martin commented.
In addition to the larger, St.
Martin is also committed to making the Jimmy Award better.
Over the past few years, the awards gala has increased its forecast on stage, and at the end of the first scene has increased the volume of production, for the first time ever, the ceremony will be broadcast live on the Internet to the audience.
\"My goal is to see it on TV,\" said St . \"Martin.
\"But you crawl first before you run,\" she laughed.