Jimmy Awards 2024: 2 Chicago-area musical theatre students making Broadway debut Monday night

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Jimmy Awards will be presented in New York on Monday night, and two local teenagers are finalists for the high school musical theatre honors.

Finalists Jazmin Rhodes and George Spiegel have been in rehearsals all week, and ABC7's Hosea Sanders says they are ready for their debut on Broadway.

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"It's kind of scary thinking about the competition aspect of it," said Jazmin, a Homewood-Flossmoor High School graduate. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so that's what's kept me grounded in all of this."

George is a standout at Maine South in Park Ridge.

"If I'm going into performing, this is what I'll be doing for a job. I'm trying to prepare for it like something that I earned," George said.

Both were part of the Broadway in Chicago program and are now competing along with more than 100 students from across the country.

"Everybody has to start somewhere, and you're not always going to start off the bat being on Broadway and even to be able to perform is a blessing in itself," Jazmin said. "Each year that I've watched it and seen people who look like me on the stage, has made that dream of being there feel even more tangible."

J.R. Willard-Rose is a theater teacher at Homewood-Flossmoor.

"To have a student of her caliber and a student of color step out and take that kind of award, I think it breaks barriers," J.R. said.

"It is exciting when people are texting my parents and saying, 'I saw George on the news!'" George said.

Cindy and Tim Spiegel are proud parents.

"We're not stage parents - so him preparing, I don't know what he's supposed to do," Cindy said.

"The performing end of what everybody else see doesn't get to see all the hard work he does on the front end," Tim added.

Josh Groban is the host for the Jimmy Awards on Monday night. You can see them streaming free on Facebook and YouTube, starting at 6:30 p.m.