On June 26, Lauren A. Marchand graced the stage at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre, winning the 2023 Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress along with $25,000 towards furthering her education. The prestigious Jimmy Awards, presented by The Broadway League Foundation, are often referred to as the Tony Awards equivalent for high school musical theater performers. But Marchand’s life has been filled with music for as long as she can remember.
After seeing her favorite Disney movie, The Little Mermaid, come to life on the Broadway stage at age four, Marchand knew she wanted to perform on that same stage. She first performed in a local production of Annie at a Merrick theater and never looked back.
Marchand has now performed in five productions throughout her years at Jericho High School, including the Broadway hit musical Frozen, where she played Elsa, winning the regional Roger Rees Award for her role. She was also elected as the President of the Thespian Honor Society, remarking that her time at JHS helped her grow as a performer and person “by growing my leadership skills and working in a team to produce a common goal.”
Life for Marchand has only sped up after the Jimmys, immediately gaining a larger social media presence, which she is now using to post performance videos and covers of her favorite Broadway songs. Additionally, she’s made many new professional contacts and is currently working on some exciting projects.
red carpet at the Jimmys.
(Photo courtesy of Lauren Marchand)
In the fall, she plans to attend NYU Steinhardt School for Vocal Performance in Musical Theater and will continue to perform and attend auditions around New York City.
“The dream has always been to perform on Broadway, so hopefully in a few years, I will be pursuing that dream in some capacity,” Marchand said.
When asked what word of advice she would give to younger kids also dreaming of the Broadway stage, Marchand said, “One piece of advice I would give is to always be yourself. You have to be kind, but do not let other people walk all over you. Theater can be a ruthless field, but it is also beautiful too.”
