7 Jimmy Awards Alums You Can See on Broadway Right Now

Move over, Tonys. It’s time for the Jimmys!

The 16th annual Jimmy Awards ceremony, showcasing the nation’s best of the best in high school musical theater, will take place on June 23 at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre. We've been following the Road to the Jimmys, and it's nearly time to see the 110 nominated high school students from 55 cities across the U.S. compete for the coveted Best Performance prizes, along with other top honors and scholarships. The Jimmys are a hotbed for emerging talent, so it's no surprise that you’ll find plenty of Jimmy alums on Broadway. Here’s a roundup of familiar faces you can see on stages right now who once took their shot at Jimmy glory. 

Julia Knitel, 2009 Nominee
*Nominated for her performance as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie at Fair Lawn High School in Fair Lawn, New Jersey

You’ll know Knitel for her Tony-nominated turn as Millicent (and more) from Dead Outlaw, but before that, she was recognized for playing a different Millie. She represented Paper Mill Playhouse’s Rising Star Awards at the inaugural 2009 Jimmy Awards and, unbeknownst to her fellow nominees, started rehearsals two weeks later for her Broadway debut in Bye Bye Birdie. She later appeared in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, playing the lead role both on Broadway and on tour, and in subsequent years, filled out her resume with more touring, regional and off-Broadway productions. Here she is singing “Gimme Gimme” from Thoroughly Modern Millie as part of a character medley with her fellow nominees.

Marla Louissaint, 2015 Best Performance by an Actress
*Nominated for her performance as Caroline in Caroline, or Change at The Beacon School in New York City

Though Louissaint is currently busy playing a Fate and understudying Persephone in Broadway’s Hadestown, a decade ago, she was representing the Gershwin Awards at the Jimmys. She’s been booked and blessed in the national tours of Hadestown and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, as well as City Center's 2016 production of God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. But, being the well-rounded woman she is, since her turn at the Jimmys, she’s also managed to get a Computer Science degree from Fordham University. Look back at her winning performance of “I’m Here” from The Color Purple.

Ryan McCartan, 2011 Best Performance by an Actor
*Nominated for his performance as J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Minnetonka High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota

Before he became The Great Gatsby, McCartan was a high schooler from the Midwest, representing the SpotLight Musical Theatre Program at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards. Since then, he’s been busy plotting murder as Jason "J.D." Dean in the original off-Broadway cast of Heathers: The Musical, making his Broadway debut as Fiyero in the 15th anniversary cast of Wicked and serving smolders as Prince Hans in the closing cast of Frozen. We’re just glad there’s still a recording of his competition solo, "Someone To Fall Back On," by Jason Robert Brown.

Eva Noblezada, 2013 Finalist
*Nominated for her performance as Ariel Moore in Footloose at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina

Before Eva Noblezada became a two-time Tony nominee, she was holding out for a hero in North Carolina and representing the Blumey Awards on the Jimmys stage. At 17, Noblezada was cast as Kim in the West End revival of Miss Saigon and was later Tony-nominated for her performance when the production transferred to Broadway. She also played Éponine in the West End production of Les Misérables, earned her second Tony nomination and a Grammy Award as Hadestown’s original Eurydiuce and starred as Daisy Buchanan in Broadway’s The Great Gatsby. Noblezada recently joined the Broadway revival of Cabaret as Sally Bowles, a role the production’s original Sally, Gayle Rankin, has dubbed the “female Hamlet of musical theater.” For her competition solo, she sang "With You" from Ghost.

Jasmine Amy Rogers, 2017 Finalist
*Nominated for her performance as the Witch in Into the Woods at Stephen F Austin High School in Fort Bend County, Texas

It’s easy to imagine that Rogers was born Betty Boop, but true fans will remember her as the nominee representing Houston’s Tommy Tune Awards at the Jimmys. In addition to her Tony-nominated Broadway debut in BOOP!, Rogers appeared in Cabaret as Sally Bowles at the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied musical theater. She also played Gretchen Wieners in the National Tour of Mean Girls, Anita in Jelly’s Last Jam at Pasadena Playhouse, Melody Green in The Wanderer at Paper Mill Playhouse and Francis in the world premiere of Becoming Nancy at the Alliance Theatre. Though she didn’t take home the grand prize that year, her teenage rendition of “Easy as Life” from Aida certainly won us over.

Kyle Selig, 2010 Best Performance by an Actor
*Nominated for his performance as Don Lockwood in Singin' in the Rain at Huntington Beach High School in Long Beach, California

Fifteen years ago, Selig represented Musical Theatre West’s Footlighters Scholarship Awards at the 2010 Jimmys. Since then, he’s graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, originated the role of Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls, played Elder Price in The Book of Mormon on Broadway and led the final stretch of Water for Elephants at the Imperial Theatre. You’ll find him on Broadway right now rubbing shoulders with legends in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends. An all-too important blast from the past, here’s Selig singing his competition solo, "The Streets of Dublin" from A Man of No Importance.

Josh Strobl, 2016 Best Performance by an Actor
*Nominated for his performance as Link Larkin in Hairspray at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California

Only the lucky few will have had the privilege to see Strobl in one of his many costumes as a pinch-hitting Broadway understudy, but we can all still enjoy his prize-winning Jimmys performance. Strobl represented L.A.’s Jerry Herman Awards on the big night back in 2016, and he’s been crushing it ever since. He earned his BFA in musical theater from the University of Michigan before joining the Broadway cast of Dear Evan Hansen as the universal swing for Evan, Connor and Jared. You can now find him understudying both Ponyboy and Johnny in The Outsiders. For his competition solo, he performed “Maria” from West Side Story and it’s pretty close to the most beautiful sound we’ve ever heard.