Rockwall-Heath senior Towdah Kiima wins Broadway Dallas top honor

Rockwall-Heath High School senior Towdah Kiima turned a regional theater competition into a national opportunity, winning Broadway Dallas’s Outstanding Lead Performer Award for Hadestown: Teen Edition and advancing to the Jimmy Awards in New York City.

Kiima earned the honor at the Broadway Dallas High School Musical Theatre Awards on May 2 at the Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas, where he outpaced 10 other North Texas student nominees. Rockwall ISD said the award sends him on to represent both the district and North Texas at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, better known as the Jimmy Awards, on June 22.

The stakes rise sharply from there. The Broadway League Foundation says the 17th annual Jimmy Awards will take place Monday, June 22, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre in Manhattan. The program expects 116 nominees from 58 cities and says the awards have helped generate more than $6 million in educational scholarships.

For Rockwall-Heath, Kiima’s win was only the most visible sign of a broader showing for the school’s theater program. Broadway Dallas also listed Rockwall-Heath nominations in music direction, costume design and scenic design for Hadestown: Teen Edition. The school had three additional Outstanding Lead Performer nominees as well, underscoring that Kiima’s recognition came from a cast and production that drew attention across multiple categories.

The broader competition was sizable. Broadway Dallas evaluated 100 productions from 90 participating high schools in its 2026 awards cycle, part of an event tied to the Music Hall Centennial. The ceremony also awarded $70,000 in scholarships, making the night more than a trophy presentation and putting real financial support behind the region’s student performers.

For families in Rockwall County weighing fine arts options, Kiima’s path shows how a district program can translate into measurable returns: training at Rockwall-Heath, district-backed production work, regional competition, and now a spot on one of the country’s biggest high school theater stages. The move from Fair Park to Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre puts Rockwall-Heath in a national spotlight and gives the district a concrete example of how student arts programs can open doors far beyond North Texas.