Every year, the Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance selects two students to receive the award of Most Outstanding Performer in a Musical. At the 2025 showcase, held at Symphony Space in New York City on Monday, May 19, senior Jack Ceglie was selected for this honor. As a result, he will now be representing the Greater New York area at the Broadway League Foundation’s National High School Musical Theatre Awards, more widely known as the Jimmy Awards.
Although this is Ceglie’s first experience on the road to the Jimmys, he is no stranger to the Roger Rees Awards. The 2025 showcase was his third year at the event; in his sophomore year, he was nominated for his portrayal of Billy Crocker in Anything Goes!; and in his junior year, he was nominated and selected as a finalist for his portrayal of Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
This year, although Ceglie played Danny Zuko in LHS’s performance of Grease, he was in fact nominated for his role as Bobby Strong in Long Island High School for the Arts’ (LIHSA) performance of Urinetown. During the nomination process, Ceglie faced uncertainty as to whether he would return to the Roger Rees for the third year in a row, as Grease was ineligible for nomination, and LIHSA had never been nominated for one of its musicals before. “I almost wasn’t going to be able to go this year, but I did, so I was just really thankful to be there. I was thankful to be a finalist again,” Ceglie shared. “When it comes to awards, there’s a cliché that it’s an honor just to be nominated, but it really is true. If you’re recognized and externally validated as one of the 12 top performers in [the Greater New York Area,] that’s a huge honor,” chorus teacher Barry Wyner added.
The road to the Jimmys is a chain-of-events process, from nominations right through the Outstanding Performer Award. After being selected as one of 50 nominees, the Roger Rees weekend began on Saturday, May 17, where Ceglie workshopped his potential finalist song and got the opportunity to meet his fellow nominees. “I chose ‘Look at the Sky’ from Urinetown; it was between that and ‘Run Freedom Run,’ which is another song in the show. ‘Look at the Sky’ had a lot more of a story to tell and a lot less ‘show-off vocals,’” Ceglie explained.
Over the weekend, Ceglie perfected ‘Look at the Sky’ with Donna Vivino, one of the Outstanding Performer coaches; Vivino has appeared in numerous Broadway musicals, including Wicked, Hell’s Kitchen, and the Les Misérables North American Tour. Ceglie described his 15-minutes coaching slot he had with Vivino: “She had me [sing] twice and gave me notes on certain sections of the song. Then, you have that in store for when you possibly get chosen as a finalist.”
When it was time for Ceglie’s big performance after being announced as one of the 12 finalists, he was not at all nervous. “Surprisingly, I went into it cool, calm, and collected because even though I was shocked that I was picked as a finalist, [I told myself,] ‘Okay, now I know what this feels like. Now I can just do what I did those months ago or do what I did yesterday.’ That’s going to be my best bet,” he shared.
Lauren Barchi is the assistant director of Professional Youth Theatre in Long Beach and has been Ceglie’s vocal coach for the last four years. Having prepared “Look at the Sky” with Ceglie in the weeks before the Roger Rees, Barchi was incredibly proud of her student’s performance. “We did work on it together a few weeks ago. He knew he had to audition to get to the Roger Rees, so we practiced it right before then. We sort of collaborated on where the cuts might be or what notes we might go up to, so then getting to see it on stage was coming full circle for me. He was so grounded and knew what he wanted to do and achieved that,” Barchi explained.
Although Wyner was not in attendance at the Roger Rees Awards, he was grateful to receive a video of the performance from Ceglie’s mom: “He was so poised and so calm, and it just has such a feeling of destiny as I watched it. This is clearly what he’s born to do, and he’s just such a natural.”
Thanks to a video from one of Ceglie’s friends (who happened to attend the Jimmys last year), Jack’s emotional reaction to winning the Outstanding Performer Award was shared with his LHS Concert Choir friends and supporters. “I cried. I was in absolute disbelief because when I performed—by the way—I completely blacked out for that. I didn’t remember a single thing from performing,” Ceglie joked. As his harshest critic, Ceglie was convinced he would not go past the finalist stage after watching the video of his performance again: “I was prepared for the worst, and then the best happened.”
Upon receiving the news that Ceglie had won, Wyner felt immense pride for his student who he has watched grow over the last four years. “He’s such a good kid. You feel so happy for him because I’ve just watched him grow up so much over the last four years. Kids grow so much from ninth grade to 12th grade; it’s really mind-blowing. He’s really found himself as a person, and that person is extremely kind and humble.”
Sam Shapiro, who serves as production stage manager for the Roger Rees Awards and has been a performing artist coach for the last 20 years, shared Wyner’s sentiments. “From my calling station in the stage left wing, I get to witness something the audience can’t see: Jack cheering wildly for his competition. I can say without a single doubt that Jack truly didn’t care if he won or not,” Shapiro revealed.
Now that the high of receiving the Outstanding Performer Award has simmered down, Ceglie has a long road of work and excitement ahead of him. “You get [this] 45-page packet, and it’s just a list of what songs you [have] to prepare, what clothing you [have] to bring, how many outfits for what day,” Ceglie shared. Despite the quick turnaround time, the experience will certainly be memorable for Ceglie—10 days in Manhattan with the other 109 finalists, fully immersed in the heart of musical theatre.
Ceglie credits his current successes to the village of people that propelled him to where he is today. “For this role specifically and the past two years in terms of growth, I have to give it to my director of Urinetown, Chris Brick. He’s just been life changing; he really shaped my entire understanding of everything, and I really have to thank him for doing what I did two days ago, and also what I can do now,” Ceglie dished. He also cited his parents as a major source of support: “They do everything for me. It’s endless. They’re always supportive. They’re always offering help when they cannot take on anything else, and yet, they do. They’re incredible.”
For students who hope to receive Roger Rees or Jimmy Awards some day like Ceglie, Wyner advises to continue working towards your goal, even if you were born with the natural talent. “Jack is a good role model in that way. He’s worked hard at his singing, his dancing, and his acting. Even though he knew that he was born with talent, he recognized that you have to hone your craft,” Wyner explained. Shapiro added, “When asked about casting, Stephen Sondheim said he focused on ‘essential qualities of the person,’ as certain qualities cannot be taught. I believe Jack possesses many qualities that can’t be taught.”
Both Wyner and LIHSA Director of Shows Chris Brick agree that Ceglie never once performed halfway. “He is not somebody who is worried to play around and to make mistakes and to find things that are different in his performances, and I think that’s what’s so exciting and what sets him apart from other people,” Brick commented. In short: “Do the weird thing. Make the choice.” The 16th Annual Jimmy Awards will take place at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre on Monday, June 23.
