Two high school students from the Dayton area performed on Broadway this summer at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City.
Also known as the Jimmy Awards, the program recognizes the best of high school musical talent from across the U.S.
Lynn Dauterman and Griffin Greear were among the 120 students selected as 2025 Jimmy Awards nominees. They attended rehearsals, worked with professionals and took in Broadway culture during their visit in June.
Dauterman, who was featured as Madame Thénardier from Les Misérables in a character medley, said theater has always felt like an escape for her.
“Being able to give other people an escape from reality to, you know, be happy and be sad, not only brings me joy, but it brings other people joy, which is incredible,” Dauterman said.
Greear performed a solo during the opening number. He said he sees theater as a way to connect with people he may never meet.
“If you get to do something that is really impactful to them and makes them think about their lives and change them, that is so incredibly powerful and it's such a gift,” he said.
The hardest challenge, Greear said, was overcoming the intimidation of being around so many talented peers.
“There's a challenge of becoming confident, not necessarily in your skills, but in what you bring to the table as a performer and as an actor,” Greer said. “I had a realization that I don't need to be the person next to me, and they don't need to be me.”
Greear is an incoming senior at Oakwood High School and said he wants to pursue theatre as a career.
Dauterman graduated from Kettering Fairmont High School and is starting at Bowling Green for career tech education. She said she hopes to come back to theatre in the future.
