The National High School Musical Theater Awards
July 3, 2018 8:42 PM   Subscribe

 
I don’t miss anything about high school. But if I did, it would be theatre. Good on these kids. My friends made it to state finals for a show, but no further. I remember going along to support them, and loving getting to see the day’s worth of shows. I had forgotten about that. Thanks for the post and the memories.
posted by greermahoney at 10:33 PM on July 3, 2018


That was such a great read!

We have a high school musical awards ceremony in my area, but they're not affiliated with this group. My own high school was so small that we didn't have the manpower to do musicals. But the straight plays we did are some of my best memories of that time.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:40 AM on July 4, 2018


This was such a wonderful article. The students seem so genuinely enamored of their craft and the experience and each other. I loved her postscript at the end:

We live in cruel times, times where sometimes it seems the only way to cope is to make ourselves numb. The Jimmy Awards are a sanctuary from that. The Jimmy Awards celebrate a group of young people with the courage to greet an increasingly uncertain — sometimes apocalyptic-seeming — future with arms outstretched. And I choose to celebrate that celebration. It is impossible to feel numb or apathetic for those few hours at the Minskoff — certainly for the 80 teens performing, but also for the adults in the audience. The Jimmys honor earnestness and effort in a society that continually extols the idea of “giving no fucks.” Not giving a fuck is boring. These young people give every fuck. They give fucks like they’ve still got a closetful of fucks at home packed up to drop off at Goodwill. You cannot try to look nonchalant while tap-dancing in a Beast costume. There is no way to be “cool” at the Jimmys. And thank God (or Sondheim, or Audra, or whatever deity to whom you may subscribe) for that. “Cool,” quite frankly, sucks. This night is not “cool.” It is extraordinary.

Give the most fucks!!
posted by hepta at 7:51 AM on July 4, 2018 [4 favorites]


This piece is just plain wonderful. Natalie Walker is my new favorite theater writer. If you missed it, here she is ranking all 41 Broadway theaters.

The photography for this piece, by Mark Abramson, is fantastic too.
posted by How the runs scored at 11:42 AM on July 4, 2018


Natalie Walker is so great, just let her have a regular theater column.
posted by colorblock sock at 1:36 PM on July 4, 2018 [1 favorite]


RIVETING and SO RELATABLE. Occasionally I see high school conservatory kids downtown on my way in to work and the very sight of them is thrilling and terrifying, as an aged-out performing arts kid.
posted by clavicle at 7:40 AM on July 5, 2018


Argh, I missed this post and was making my own, so if anyone wants to spend hours watching amazingly talented kids, here are all the medleys from 2010-2017! 2018 isn't up yet, but you can watch their Week in Review!

2010
1, 2, 3, 4

2011
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

2012
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

2013
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

2014
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

2015
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

2016
1, 2, 3, 4

2017
1, 2, 3, 4
posted by ChuraChura at 11:06 AM on July 5, 2018 [4 favorites]


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