Thursday, May 25, 2023, the Orpheum Theatre Group announced the award recipients of the 14th annual Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards. Among the honorees is Chester County High School student Hunt Pipkin, who was named Outstanding Featured Actor for his performance as Adam in Freaky Friday.
Students from 47 participating schools across three states gathered on the Orpheum stage to celebrate their peers’ on- and off-stage achievements in musical theatre. The evening was a culmination of a year-long program bringing students from all over the Mid-South together for an intensive week of team building, collaboration, and celebration of musical theatre.
The Lead Actor and Actress award recipients from 2022 Brima Gassama and Vera Brown returned to the Orpheum stage to host the evening’s ceremony.
Award recipients for Lead Actor and Lead Actress – Whit Robbins (New Albany High School) and Hailey Brown (Northpoint Christian School) will represent the Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards at The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (The Jimmy Awards) at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway on Monday, June 26.
The 14th annual Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards are sponsored in part by Ticketmaster, Andy Dean Production Services, Production One, Sedgwick, and Grove Park Dental Group.
The Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards is part of The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (the Jimmy Awards) which includes 48 programs from across the country. Presented by The Broadway League Foundation, the program invites one Best Actress and one Best Actor nominee from each of these competitions to New York City for a week-long theatre intensive of coaching and rehearsals with industry professionals in preparation for a one-night-only showcase on Broadway. The 14th annual Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 26, 2023, at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway – the current home of Disney’s The Lion King.
The Orpheum Theatre Group congratulates all award recipients.
About The National High School Musical Theatre Awards:
The Jimmy Awards/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) program impacts more than 140,000 students who participate in 48 regional high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of touring Broadway productions throughout the United States. Named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, the program has been the catalyst for more than $6,000,000 in educational scholarships. Presented by The Broadway League Foundation, Inc., the NHSMTA invites one Best Actress and one Best Actor nominee from each local regional ceremony to New York City for a week-long theatre intensive that includes coaching sessions, training, and rehearsals led by some of Broadway’s most accomplished professionals. Nominees will spend one week in New York City from Sunday, June 18, 2023, through Tuesday, June 27, 2023, and their efforts throughout the week will lead to one extraordinary talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on a Broadway stage. The fourteenth annual Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 26, 2023, at the Minskoff Theatre. For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.
About the Orpheum Theatre Group:
The mission of the Orpheum Theatre Group is to enhance the communities we serve by utilizing the performing arts to entertain, educate, and enlighten while preserving the historic Orpheum Theatre and the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts and Education. For more information, visit orpheum-memphis.com.
Orpheum Education Declaration of Action: We commit to engaging and collaborating with the people of the Mid-South through the transformative power of the arts.
