Oh, what a NIGHT!

The past couple of days have been an absolute whirlwind of excitement for the nominees!  Sunday brought a full morning of rehearsal before it was time to change for the first night with the Judges.  One by hilarious one, the medleys performed for our panel of judges, surrounded by the support of their chaperones and staff.  When the medleys concluded, it was on to the solo round.  Each nominee took their turn in the spotlight and gave their very best performance.  52 incredible performances later, the evening concluded with a vote by the group for the Spirit of the Jimmy Award.

Bright and early Monday morning we boarded the buses for the Minskoff where each nominee would take their first steps onto a Broadway stage.  The day was complete with a practice run-through including mics, lights and all that jazz. After dinner the nominees gathered with Van and Kiesha for a series of very special awards  After a review of these awards our two leaders awarded Madeline Mathias the Jimmy Award for Best Ensemble, Rayven Burdette the Jimmy Award for Most Improved and Drayton Maclean Mayers the Spirit of the Jimmy Award, which had been voted on his peers the night before. In addition, Kamari Saxon was selected by Carnegie Mellon University to attend the Carnegie Mellon University Six-Week Pre-College Drama Program!  Congratulations to these award winners - each a wonderful representation of hard work in their own right.

After LOTS of hugs and photos, the nominees headed to their respective dressing rooms before it was "PLACES," and the show was off an running with Tony Award-winning host Michael Cerveris at the helm and surprise special guests Tony Award-nominees Robbie Fairchild and Brandon Uranowitz from An American in Paris in the wings.  Finally, the time came to announce the finalists and you could feel the love on stage from each nominee as they cheered on the finalists - Alec Michael Ryan, Drayton Maclean Mayers, Anthony Skillman, Morgan Higgins, Marnie Quick and Marla Louissaint.  Solo after solo these sensational six dazzled the audience with their performances before making their way to the Minskoff lift through which they rose on stage for the final announcement.  A hush came over the crowd and the winners were announced - Anthony Skillman the M.A.C.Y. Awards and Marla Louissaint from the Gershwin Awards.  Congratulations to this dynamic duo, their fellow finalists, special Jimmy Award winners and each and every nominee who poured their heart out on stage.  From start to finish the show was as flawless as possible, with each nominee shining as bright as the lights on the Minskoff marquee.