Meet the metro Atlanta teen named the country’s top high school actor
This story was originally published by ArtsATL.
Jake James, a 17-year-old rising senior at Milton High School, won the 2026 Jimmy Award for Best Leading Actor, the nation’s highest honor in high school musical theater. James represented Georgia during the ceremony in June, held at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre and hosted by Bowen Yang. The win includes $25,000 in prize money.
To qualify for the Jimmys, James won Georgia’s Shuler Award for his work in the musical “Water for Elephants,” playing Jacob Jankowski. ArtsBridge Foundation’s other representative at the Jimmy Awards was Tri-Cities High School student Destiny Brown, who won her Shuler for “The Color Purple.”
James said in a recent interview that the win feels “tremendous.”
To prepare for his presentation, James was in New York for 10 days, training with Broadway coaches and choreographers to quickly learn an opening and closing medley for the show and hone featured performances.
“It’s crazy because all the days blurred together while I was there,” he said. “When it started, I thought it was going to be a long week, but it flew by.”
During the awards show, James performed two impressive solos: the songs “Silver Stars” from “Water for Elephants” and “It’s Hard to Speak My Heart” from “Parade.” Both musicals also have strong Atlanta connections. “Water for Elephants” debuted at the Alliance Theatre in 2023, where James first saw the show before it opened on Broadway.
“I did get to see it,” he said. “That was super cool. Going into it, I had no idea what the show was, nor did I know that I was going to do it years later. Crazy full-circle moment.”
“Parade,” meanwhile, centers around the 1913 Fulton County murder trial and lynching of Leo Frank, who was falsely accused of the murder of child factory worker Mary Phagan — which fueled widespread antisemitism. James said he did extensive research into the musical and the history when preparing the solo, which was introduced to him by pianist Judy Cole with the City Springs Theatre Conservatory, for whom he performs regularly.
“It was really special to me, because it hit so close to home,” he said.
James’ performance as Frank during the Jimmy Awards finals received widespread acclaim for its vocal and the strength of his acting, even from “Parade” composer Jason Robert Brown. Brown shared the video and said on Instagram that James “beautifully embodied” the song.
Shuler Hensley, artistic director for the City Springs Theatre Company and the Tony Award-winning actor who is the namesake of Georgia’s high school musical theater awards, said in a statement that James’ win was “so well deserved, not only for his raw talent but also his work ethic and kindness to fellow actors.”
Upon his return from New York, James immediately went into tech rehearsal for the City Springs Conservatory performance of “Guys and Dolls,” in which he played the comedic role of gambler Nathan Detroit.
Kristine Reese, the head of recruitment and curriculum at the conservatory, said in an email that the work James exhibited on the national stage reflects what she observes in him all the time.
“This is what I see from him in class every week,” she said. “His work is sophisticated and nuanced in all the ways. I was also impressed and yet not surprised by how poised he was in that very big moment, not just with his performance but also his humanity — he was so kind, gracious and humble. His speech was beautiful. That made me so proud. Being a good person is really important.”
In his acceptance speech, James made a point of thanking his “haters” for motivating him to keep working, giving him fuel. He said that he recently had to choose between playing baseball — as a pitcher and outfielder — and doing theater.
“I did both for as long as I could, because I always wanted to do both, and I think people should do both for as long as they can,” he said. “It got to a point where I’ve got to think about college and my future. Doing theater only, I realized, not just makes me better at theater. It also makes me a better person.”
Billy Harrigan Tighe, who worked with James on acting through song as part of the conservatory program, said it was impressive how he chose to perform his winning moments.
“In the biggest moment of his life, he chose to lean in and do something that was grounded, earnest and in service to the character and the story, not in service of himself, vocal gymnastics and the competition aspects,” Tighe said. “I would have been proud of him no matter what, but I am most proud that it went this way.”
For James, who dreams of one day playing Ponyboy in the musical “The Outsiders,” the arts have expanded his opportunities and his worldview.
“Being able to relate to so many different experiences and to work through so many different situations can make people much more mature and open to new things,” he said. “It made me open to communicating with people. It made it easier being in front of people, talking to people. It made me more outgoing. I just think it really expands a person’s character.”
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Benjamin Carr is an ArtsATL editor-at-large who has contributed to the publication since 2019 and is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, Dramatists Guild, Atlanta Press Club and Horror Writers Association. His writing has been featured in podcasts for iHeartMedia, onstage as part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and online in the Guardian. His debut novel, “Impacted,” was published by the Story Plant.
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