Road to the Jimmys 2026, Episode 2: The Arshties in Miami

If the Tony Awards speak to what’s happening on Broadway now, the Jimmy Awards forecast Broadway's future. Formally known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, the Jimmy Awards are an annual celebration of outstanding musical theater talent in high schools across America—from Dallas to Des Moines, San Antonio to San Diego, Memphis to Minneapolis. This year's Jimmy Awards will be held on June 22 at the Minskoff Theatre. Until then, The Broadway Show will be chronicling the Road to the Jimmys, spotlighting a few of the regional competitions that send their most talented teens to New York City each spring.

For the first time ever, the Adrienne Arsht Center is bringing South Florida students into the national spotlight through The Arshties, its inaugural regional high school musical theater awards program. The program celebrates outstanding student performers while giving them something even more valuable: Access. From coaching and mentorship to performance opportunities and professional feedback, students are getting a firsthand look at what it takes to build a career in theater. And in a region filled with emerging talent, The Arshties are already helping build the next generation of local artists, storytellers and theatermakers.

Jairo Ontiveros, the Vice President of Education and Community Engagement at The Arsht Center, recognizes the importance of implementing this program at the Center. “To really see these young people, their theater teachers, their educators, their families and also The Arsht Center staff come together; there’s a lot of excitement around it,” he says. “We knew that there was so much talent in Miami, and these young people in high school theater, but my goodness.”