Twenty-nine schools from the Greater New York region will come together in New York City next month for The Broadway Education Alliance's The Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance. The students will compete for the title of Best Actor and Best Actress, with the winners going on to participate in The Broadway League Foundation’s Jimmy Awards (also known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards) in June.
The Roger Rees Awards will be held May 19 at Pearl Studios in Manhattan.
To be eligible for the competition, high schools must have presented an officially licensed production of a Broadway musical during the 2017–2018 academic year.
One-hundred-and-twenty-one students from the participating schools are currently being adjudicated by teams of professional industry performers and educators. The top 50 students who receive the highest scores will be chosen to participate in a day-long performance training and talent showcase on May 19.
The industry professionals who will serve as acting coaches are Lanene Charters, Robin Lewis, Sean Michael McKnight, and Cindy Thole. The music directors are Matt Cataldi, Nissa Kahle, Stephen Purdy, and Christine Riley.
The Roger Rees Awards celebrate the value of theatre arts education in honor of the late Tony-winning Broadway actor and director Roger Rees. For more information visit RogerReesAwards.com.
