Blue Star Award winners return to KC from Jimmy Awards
After a whirlwind week in the Big Apple full of intense rehearsals, a dazzling Broadway show and memorable sightseeing, Blue Star Award winners Lauryn Hurley and Sam Auchbuchon have returned to Kansas City following the 2018 Jimmy® Awards.
Shortly after arriving in New York City on Monday, June 18, Hurley and Auchbuchon joined their fellow Jimmy’s peers at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ New Studio on Broadway to begin rehearsing for their performances at the 10th-annual Jimmy Awards ceremony. Broadway stars Adam Kantor (currently on Broadway in the Tony Award®-winning The Band’s Visit), Tony nominee Howard McGillin, Lisa Brescia, Maryann Hu, Natalie Weiss and Schele Williams coached the 80 high school students from across the country in acting, dance and singing throughout the week. The students’ preparation also included a training intensive with NYU Tisch School of Arts faculty members and other theatre professionals. With a week’s worth of world-class theatrical training under their belts, the Jimmy nominees masterfully showcased all of their hard work and talent at the program’s main event on Monday, June 25 at the Minskoff Theatre.
Though much of their week was spent in rehearsals, a trip to New York wouldn’t have been complete without the unparalleled experience of attending a Broadway show. The cast of Dear Evan Hansen certainly didn’t disappoint the Jimmy nominees when they traveled to the Music Box Theatre on Wednesday, June 20 to see the Tony Award-winning musical. After the show, the students had the special opportunity to participate in a talkback with the show’s cast in which the professional actors provided guidance and advice based on experiences throughout their own theatrical careers.
Other New York highlights included a meal at Sardi’s—Times Square’s legendary continental restaurant whose walls feature caricatures of hundreds of entertainment industry stars. The pair also paid visits to the iconic Chelsea Market and the High Line, New York’s 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail.
Congratulations to Lauryn and Sam on their phenomenal job of representing Kansas City and Starlight Theatre at this year’s NHSMTA ceremony. We can’t wait to see what your futures have in store!
2018 Jimmy Awards by the Numbers:
1 – Number of Tony Awards host Laura Benanti has won
5 – Number of Tony Award nominations host Laura Benanti has received
6 – Number of nominations for performances from Into the Woods, the most performed show among the nominees
8 – Number of nominees returning to the Jimmy Awards for a second year
10 – Number of Jimmy Awards ceremonies
15 – Age of the youngest nominees
17 – Number of nominees visiting New York City for the first time
19 – Number of nominees that had never before seen a Broadway show in New York City
24 – Number of states that the nominees represent
26 – Number of nominees who play sports
27 – Number of Tony nominations among the judges and coaches
28 – Number of Jimmy Award alumni in the audience
48 – Number of different shows these students were nominated for
80 – Number of nominees for this year’s Jimmy Awards
550 – Number of nominees who have participated in the national competition in New York City
800+ – Number of productions that the 80 nominees have performed in
1,500+ – Number of high schools that participate in regional high school musical theatre awards competitions
100,000+ – Estimated number of students nationwide who participated in qualifying shows from which the winners come to New York for the Jimmy Awards
$2,000,000+ – Scholarships earned by nominees throughout the ten years of the Jimmy Awards
For more information, visit www.jimmyawards.comjimmy