Milton High School rising senior scores top theatre award

ATLANTA - It's the highest honor in high school musical theatre — and last month, a rising senior at Milton High School brought one home.

Georgia's own Jake James won the 2026 Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor, wowing the crowd at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway with his performance of "It's Hard to Speak My Heart" from the musical "Parade."

The Jimmy Awards — formally known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards — were created in 2009 and recognizes excellence in American high school musical theatre. 

Although his win at Georgia's 2026 Shuler Awards (for his performance in Milton High School's production of "Water for Elephants") qualified him for the national competition, James says he never considered that he'd walk away with a Jimmy Award.

"Honestly, not even a little bit," he says. "The entire week leading up, I hadn't even thought about that being a possibility."

For James, theatre is a relatively recent pursuit. 

"I always did it on the side," he says. "I always played baseball competitively and as a passion. And it wasn't until a couple of years ago, when I started making the switch to taking theatre more seriously and baseball more for fun."

James credits Milton High School — especially theatre director Lynda Micki Ankiel — for developing his talents as a performer.

"Some of the best direction I've ever had was at my high school, by Miss Ankiel," he says. "She's brilliant."

Next up for Jake James? Senior year of high school, of course. After that, the performer says he'll likely go to college, unless there's a career opportunity too good to refuse. 

"I'm excited to just have my senior year," he says. "I'm excited for that experience."