Bowen Yang is set to host the 17th annual Jimmy Awards, Broadway‘s annual celebration of high school musical theater talent. The ceremony is set for Monday, June 22, at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City.
Yang, 35, has received five Primetime Emmy nominations for his work on Saturday Night Live. He joined the show as a writer in 2018 and departed after the Dec. 20 episode. He and Matt Rogers co-host the podcast, Las Culturistas, which was named podcast of the year at the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards in both 2023 and 2025. Yang and Rogers received their first Tony nods this year as producers of Titanique, which was nominated for best musical.
Past hosts of the Jimmy Awards include Broadway stars Ben Platt, Laura Benanti and Josh Groban. The awards, which originated in 2009, were named in honor of Broadway producer and theater owner James (“Jimmy”) M. Nederlander.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bowen Yang as host of the 2026 Jimmy Awards,” Jason Laks, president for The Broadway League, said in a statement. “Bowen’s creativity, humor, and enthusiasm for the talent on the Jimmy Awards stage make him an ideal champion for this program.”
The Jimmy Awards is the national talent showcase celebrating high school musical theater students from across the country and featuring dynamic ensemble and solo performances. Each participating Regional Awards Program awards top honors to two local student performers and sponsors their travel to New York to participate in The Jimmy Awards. At the Jimmy Awards ceremony, a panel of judges will bestow awards and scholarships, including the awards for best performance by an actor and best performance by an actress.
The 2026 Jimmy Awards will stream for free online beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, June 22. Streaming links and information will be available at the Jimmy Awards site prior to the ceremony. The ceremony will remain available online for three days afterward, through Thursday evening, June 25.
Apples and Oranges Arts is the streaming and video production partner of the Jimmy Awards. The official media partner of the Jimmy Awards is WABC-TV.
The Jimmy Awards will launch a digital lottery powered by Broadway Direct. A limited number of $110 tickets will be available. The lottery is currently open and accepting entries and will close at 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday June 10. Once the lottery closes, winners will be notified within minutes and will have 60 minutes to claim and pay for tickets. Seat locations and number of tickets awarded by the lottery are subject to availability. Lottery seats may be minimally obstructed. Limit one entry per person and limit of two tickets per entry. Entry instructions can be found on the news page of the Jimmy Awards site.
