A leaner student who just won a
National Musical Theater Award is
back from his adventures in New York.
It's so surreal. I never thought that
all this would be happening so quickly.
The National High School Musical Theater
Awards or the Jimmy Awards were last
week on Broadway in the Big Apple,
and we're hearing now from the local star,
Langston Lee, who stole the show.
KB's Eric Porter caught up with him and
his high school theater coach as well.
Air joins us now.
I know you would enjoy putting this
story together, and this is huge.
This is exciting.
What does this honor mean for him?
Man, It was huge.
It was really exciting.
This is such a huge award.
Some people even call it the Tony
Awards for high school students.
It's also special because
this was our region's first
time to be considered.
Every time he prepares to perform
Langston Lee gets into character,
from his costume to his warm ups.
Ha Veva.
It's that routine that helped him land
this year's Jimmy Award for Best Actor.
It was so out of the realm of
possibilities because everybody
there was so fantastic and talented.
But I just blacked out and
I was just so emotional.
He won with
his performance of Wondering from the
Bridges of Madison County musical.
But it was his performance in Anastasia. Just
a kid on the fly
here on this stage at Rouse
High School that got him there.
To me, performing is it's the
only thing that gives me true joy
and and really the only thing that ignites
a certain kind of passion in my heart.
His school competes in the Austin
Heller Awards for the Central Texas
region in the awards 10 year history.
This was their first time being
considered for the Jimmy Awards.
They didn't expect to go far, much less win.
It's a testament to the people and the
kids here in Austin and the drive and
passion that they have for theater.
Well, I don't think they're
going to count us out as a
first year anymore nationally.
I think they're they're going to realize
that there's some really amazing
talent here in Austin and Essendon.
It's lovely and it's. Funny,
as his musical theater teacher,
Cheryl Painter helped him prepare
and watched his victory unfold,
he is unstoppable. There is no adversity
that he will not fight to overcome.
Now as a Jimmy Award winner,
he's preparing for the next steps,
links and plans to go to Juilliard in the
fall in just see where life takes him.
Theater changes so many people's lives
and it's culturally so significant.
The fact that, you know,
I get to represent Austin and and
and represent them in a good way,
I think that's. Super important
while he gets ready for new
roles. Me, Ma,
the character established in Central
Texas collides against the night
will stay the same and
nothing's black and white.
And Links in got a $25,000
scholarship for winning,
And the Austin Heller Awards also sent
Kira Card to the Jimmy Awards as well.
That's Kira right there.
She won for the Heller for Best
Supporting Performer as Officer Lock
Stock in Hendricks High School's
production of You're In Town Now.
While she didn't bring home
any hardware from New York,
it's still a huge honor to have two
people from Austin represented at the
Jimmy Awards for their first time there.
I love the fact that he's
getting into Juilliard.
It's such a. It was 7% of people
get in Juilliard who apply.
And and his mom was saying,
you know, you gotta go even.
Yeah, she wants him to get that training.
She wants him to get that experience.
Even though he could probably
go to Broadway right now. Right.
He's already getting some
some interest. You could.
Yeah, you could say that for sure.
We'll have to go see him.
What? He makes it.
We'll do a Daybreak.
Field trip. Yeah. Huge.
They're putting Austin on
the map in such a way. Was
he doing these cool things for
schools out for the summer?
So there's no more school?
Yeah, he's just getting ready for Juilliard.
I was hoping that there be some school.
Performances left.
Maybe you can do one for us for the summer.
I don't know. Yeah. Rob's border.
Yeah, I'll send it to a theater.
A shooting star to say the least.
Thank you, Eric. And.