Freddy Winners To Hit 'Big Apple,' Compete In Jimmy Awards

When 's Ben Mays and Pius X's Sarah Klingel won Freddy Awards in May for best actor and best actress in a leading role, little did they know what would be in store for them this week.

The two will experience an opportunity of a lifetime when they travel to New York City today, June 22, to rub elbows with professionals from all aspects of Broadway theater as part of the National High School Musical Theater Awards, which sponsors the Jimmy Awards. They'll spend nearly a week honing their theatrical skills in master classes, receiving one-on-one coaching, and in rehearsing for a production for the awards show, to be held at the Minskoff Theater on Broadway on Monday, June 27.  

Mays and Klingel will compete with 48 other high school thespians from across the country for the Jimmy Awards, named for Broadway theater owner/producer James M. “Jimmy” Nederlander.

“The Freddys are the icing on the cake for high school theater," said Shelley Brown, president and chief executive officer of the State Theatre in Easton, which produces the annual Freddys. "The Jimmys are the icing on the cake for these two kids.”

Mays' and Klingel's stay in New York will include housing and meals at New York University; tickets to see “The Addams Family” on Broadway; meetings with Broadway actors; a visit to the Nickelodeon studio and an opportunity to meet with agents from Bernard Telsey Casting, one of the foremost theater casting agencies in the country.

All participants in the 2011 Jimmy Awards were named Best Actor and Best Actress in regional competitions.  Mays took the Freddy last month for  for his portrayal of Freddy Benson in Parkland High School's production of “.” Klingel received a Freddy for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress for her performance as Anna Leonowens in Pius X’s presentation of “The King and I.”

“It is very exciting to have a Parkland student selected for this national event,” said Parkland's choral director , who directed "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." “I believe Ben will represent the Parkland community and the Freddy awards program in a positive manner. He is a multi-talented actor and singer.  I’m certain he will excel from this unique collaboration with other exceptionally talented thespians.”

Established in 2009, the National High School Musical Theater Awards recognizes outstanding musical theater achievement by high school students. It is the year-end culmination of awards programs held across the country. 

A panel of industry experts will select the Jimmy Award winners, who will receive scholarships and other prizes.  In 2010, 44 students representing an estimated 1,000 high schools across the country participated in the program. 

When Mays and Klingel make their “debut” on Broadway, they won’t be alone in the Minskoff: three busloads of parents, relatives and friends will be making the trip to New York Monday to support and cheer for them. 

“We are so proud and delighted for Sarah," said Sister Mary Theresa, theater director at Pius X. "Her talent and personal initiative gives honor to Pius X High School. She was the heart and soul of our ‘King and I’ production. Her enthusiasm, energy and cooperation made our play experience so wonderful. We wish her all the best in this Broadway experience.”

Brown said she had been approached by those involved with the Jimmy Awards to have the Freddy winners participate in the national theater awards. She thinks the Freddys gained recognition through “Most Valuable Players,” a documentary that follows Parkland, Emmaus and Freedom high schools’ theater troupes on their way to the Freddy Awards.

“We’re the only awards program in the country that broadcasts its ceremony live on TV," Brown said. "I didn’t know very much about the Jimmys because we’re so absorbed with the Freddys. It’s a very new program, and I know now that there are at least 21 other awards programs in the United States, so I think they [the Jimmys] want to grow the program nationally.

"Any opportunity for students to experience something with other students from around the country, to compete with their peers, is a wonderful experience.”

State Theatre House Manager and Freddy Coordinator Frank Kutch called the Jimmy Awards week "a most awesome experience." He said the production is "kind of the Freddy Awards -- produced in a week."

He will chaperone Mays and Klingel in New York.

“They’ll get up at 8 a.m. and work with accompanists, lyricists and choreographers from 9 a.m. until about 10 p.m. each day. But think of the wealth of knowledge they’ll gain working with the professionals. It doesn’t get any better than that.

"I want them to have the best experience they can. My daughter watches ‘Glee’ on television, and there’s a character in the show whose dream is to perform on Broadway. Well, Ben and Sarah will be living that dream; this is a real-life experience for them. How many kids can say they performed in a play on Broadway?”

Mays and Klingel recently graduated from their respective high schools, Parkland and Pius X, and will be heading off to college in the fall.

Mays plans to study engineering in the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State University, and Klingel heads to DeSales University where she’ll enter a five-year masters program to become a physician assistant.

“I’m excited,” said Mays, of Fogelsville. “I mean, hearing about the trip to New York was one thing, but we had a conference call [last Thursday] with everyone who’s going to be there, and we found out that after the Jimmys, we’ll be going to Nickelodeon on Tuesday to audition for the show, and then to the Bernard Telsey Casting Agency to meet with casting agents. They said Nickelodeon actually requested that we be brought to the studio to audition. That’s really, really exciting.”

This could be a life-changing experience, so what would he do if he’d be cast in a production? Would he postpone school?

“I think I would,” he said. “School will be there, but this opportunity might only come around once. It’s a position I hoped to be in for a long time.”

Klingel echoed Mays' excitement, but added she was “kind of intimidated” as well.

“I’m surprised I  was even nominated [for a Freddy]. My mom asked if I had prepared a speech, and I said no, that I wouldn’t need it. I’m very excited. This is what I like to do, ever since sixth grade when my friends and I were in ‘Cinderella.’”

But, she said college is her first priority, (although that was prior to the conference call and learning about the possibility of being cast for TV or Broadway).  She said she will audition for the chorus and hopes to participate in theater at DeSales.

Nederlander, the namesake for the Jimmy Awards, owns and operates a chain of theaters, including nine on Broadway, and has been a producer for more than 70 years. He and his son, James L. Nederlander, produce shows in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and San Jose, Calif., Tucson, Ariz., Durham, N.C. and London. The elder was recently presented with the Schoenfeld Vision for Arts Education Award for establishing the National High School Musical Theater Awards.