Jerry Awards Ceremony

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The results are in. After reviewing more than 100 high school musical performances, the Jerry Awards committee will present 400 awards to deserving youth performers. The future is bright.

press release: Overture Center announced the full list of The Jerry Awards recipients for the 2018/19 season.

“We’re thrilled to announce a record 400 award recipients this year within the 98 productions around the state in 92 communities of varying sizes and theater programs with varying budgets,” commented Tim Sauers, Overture’s VP of programming and community engagement. “In order to properly recognize the wealth of talent this program finds, we are – for the first time this year – splitting the award show at Overture Center into two performances to give enough time to celebrate the participating schools, students, directors and designers.”

The Jerry Awards is one of Wisconsin’s high school musical awards programs that encourages, recognizes and honors excellence in high school musical theater. The program began in the 2009/10 school year and has since expanded across the state of Wisconsin. Educators and industry professionals review productions at more than 92 high schools/community theater organizations in 30 counties providing valuable feedback.

The 2018/19 Jerry Awards program will culminate in a show honoring student and school achievements, including performances by the Outstanding Award recipients, in Overture Hall on Sunday, June 9, 2019, at 3 & 7:30 p.m. Two outstanding performers will be selected to represent the program at The National High School Musical Theater Awards (The Jimmys) competition in New York City.

The program elevates the importance of musical theater within high schools. Students at participating high schools can also participate in The Jerry Ensemble, become a Student Critic and receive special ticket deals performance at Overture Center, The Marcus Center and The Grand Theater.

Overture Center is pleased to partner with Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) as well as the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, The Grand Theater and The Viterbo Fine Arts Center to expand the reach of the Jerry Awards to Milwaukee, Wausau and La Crosse area schools.

Participation Statistics for the 2018/19 Season:

• 98 productions
• 92 schools/community theater organizations
• 48 schools are represented in the 81 Outstanding Lead Performance Award recipients
• 30 counties
• 50 reviewers (three reviewers attended each production)
• 450+ students performing in annual awards show in Overture Hall
• 95,000 people involved in the Jerry Awards through engagement with their local high school musical

Overture and WPT collaborate in celebrating the important work done in high school musical theater and are excited to share the talent and dedication with viewers around the state. In June 2019, WPT will live-stream award ceremony in its entirety. Afterward, it can be found on WPT’s Website. The one-hour highlights program will air this fall. The Jerry Awards is thrilled to be a part of WPT’s multiyear Young Performers Initiative, which celebrates Wisconsin’s young artists and those who inspire them. Videos from past awards shows can also be found on WPT’s website.

The Jerry Awards are sponsored by Old National Bank, American Girl's Fund for Children, Wahlin Foundation, LLC on behalf of Stoughton Trailers, Konya & Matt Schuh and Wisconsin Arts Board.

OVERTURE’S JERRY AWARDS’ 2019/20 season will mark 10 years of encouraging, recognizing and honorubg excellence in high school musical theater. Throughout this time, the program has grown into one that is recognized nationally, and several recipients have grown into career musical theater professionals representing 95 productions across 89 schools/community theater organizations. The Awards were renamed in spring 2018 to honor Madison philanthropist, W. Jerome Frautschi.

OVERTURE CENTER FOR THE ARTS in Madison, Wis., features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and five galleries where national and international touring artists, ten resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in nearly 600,000 educational and artistic experiences each year. With the vision to provide “Extraordinary Experiences for All,” Overture’s mission is to support and elevate our community’s creative culture, economy and quality of life through the arts. Overture.org

THE GRAND THEATER in Wausau, Wis., has brought the best of the performing arts to North Central Wisconsin since 1927. With a mission to entertain, educate and enrich the community, The Grand works to develop a lifelong appreciation for the arts and enhance the quality of life in the region.

THE VITERBO FINE ARTS CENTER is a regional arts center with the mission to educate, stimulate, inspire and challenge the university and local communities through the presentation of diverse and quality programming.