Broadway favorite Kevin Del Aguila (Some Like It Hot) will host the 15th annual Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance, to be held May 19 at Peter Norton Symphony Space.
Produced by BEA and Disney Theatrical Group, The Roger Rees Awards celebrate student performers from 80 different high schools throughout the Greater New York region. Each year, two students who have performed a leading role in an officially licensed high school musical production are selected by a panel of Broadway professionals to receive the Outstanding Performer Award. Those students will go on to represent their region at The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (The Jimmy Awards), set for June 23 at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre.
This year's judges panel will include Marc Shaiman (Smash), Disney Theatrical teaching artist Kiara Brown Clark, New York City Center Artistic Director Jenny Gersten, Tony winner Beth Leavel (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends), agent Michael Moore, Oh, Mary! star Conrad Ricamora, and casting director Merri Sugarman.
Roger Rees Award winners who were later honored at the Jimmy Awards include 2023 Best Actress winner Lauren Marchand, 2021 Best Actor finalist (and Broadway Dear Evan Hansen and Kimberly Akimbo alum) Mateo Lizcano, 2019 Best Actress winner Ekele Ukegbuand, 2019 scholarship winner Jeremy Fuentes, 2018 Best Actor winner (and Broadway Dear Evan Hansen alum) Andrew Barth Feldman, and 2015 Best Actress winner Marla Louissaint.
READ: 15 Jimmy Award Alums Who Are Now Theatre Favorites
Other recognition categories at the Roger Rees Awards include the Harmony Helper Choral Award, celebrating excellence in choral group performance; New Faces 2025, presented in association with the Casting Society of America to solo performers in any arts discipline; the Student Journalism Award; and a scenic and costume design award, presented by the New York City Center Education and Community Engagement Department.
Visit RogerReesAwards.com.
