ONLINE: Jerry Awards Ceremony

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Martin Jenich

Supporting and Dance Performer award recipients at the 2019 Jerry Awards performance.

The cancellation of many student musical productions was a part of the heartbreaks caused by the interruption in theater company seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Overture Center's annual Jerry Awards celebrate those performers, and the organizers plan to forge ahead virtually on Facebook Live with a 90-minute show including award announcements, clips from musical theater performances, and special guests. Along with celebrating the up-and-coming talent in our state, the show plans to honor the productions that were not able to be staged or reviewed by the Jerry Awards this year. “We’re going to give them the honors and recognition they deserve,” the show's co-host Tim Sauers says in a press release. See the list of recipients here. Note: This event was moved to June 21.

10th anniversary video:

press release: In solidarity with the national protests, Overture Center postponed the June 7 airing of the virtual 2020 Jerry Awards Show. At this time, we feel it is important to allow space for voices to be heard on social platforms and not distract from the change we want to see. The arts play a critical role in actively bringing people together. When we share these experiences, we come to better understand each other’s journeys by listening to and learning from each other’s stories. The 2020 Jerry Awards will be aired on SUN, JUNE 21 at 7 PM via Facebook Live.

The 90-minute show, featuring video clips of musical theater performances, student and school awards and special guests can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/JerryAwards/.

“We understand how much work went into these school productions and how much our students look forward to this night recognizing their achievements,” said Tim Sauers, Overture’s vice president of programming and engagement and co-host of the show. “We’re going to give them the honors and recognitions they deserve.”

A catalyst for elevating and developing young, aspiring talent, the Jerry Awards program encourages and honors excellence in high school musical theater. This season 101 schools and community theater groups from 32 counties across Wisconsin participated in the program with 85 productions adjudicated by trained Jerry Awards reviewers.

Twenty-five of the 101 musical theater programs were affected by school closures and could not be reviewed for the 2019-20 show. Overture plans to pay tribute to these hard-working students and productions during the livestream event.

This year 271 Jerry Awards will be presented recognizing excellence with multiple recipients in each category.  To view the complete list of recipients, go to https://www.overture.org/programs/jerry-awards

Now in its 11^th year, the Jerry Awards began in 2009/10 and has since expanded across Wisconsin through partnerships with Marcus Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee, The Grand Theater in Wausau and Viterbo University Fine Arts Center in La Crosse. Award recipients have gone on to become musical theater professionals. The program is named in honor of Madison philanthropist W. Jerome Frautschi.

To be eligible for the Jerry Awards, high schools apply in the fall or spring to have their musical reviewed by the program.  Three adjudicators (industry professionals and educators) are assigned to see the show and write a critique evaluating it in various categories such as performance, design and direction.  Critiques are compiled and sent to each school with nominations.  In addition to the critique and being recognized at the awards show, participating students are eligible to audition for the Jerry Ensemble, become a student critic and receive special ticket offers to performances at Overture Center, Marcus Performing Arts Center, The Grand Theater and Viterbo University Fine Arts Center.

Overture is pleased to partner with PBS Wisconsin  in celebrating the important work done in high school musical theater and sharing the talent and dedication with viewers around the state. The Jerry Awards is thrilled to be a part of their multiyear Young Performers Initiative, which celebrates Wisconsin’s young artists and those who inspire them. Videos from past awards shows can also be found at pbswisconsin.org.

The Jerry Awards are sponsored by Old National Bank with additional support provided by American Girl's Fund for Children, Wahlin Foundation, LLC on behalf of Stoughton Trailers, Madison Community Foundation, Wisconsin Arts Board and A. Paul Jones Charitable Trust.

“This program elevates the importance of musical theater within high schools,” said Sauers, “proving it’s an important part of the community and deserves support and accolades.”

Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wis., features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and four galleries where national and international touring artists, 10 resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in nearly 700,000 educational and artistic experiences each year. Overture’s mission is to support and elevate our community’s creative culture, economy and quality of life through the arts. overture.org

MARCUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER in Milwaukee, is a premier performing arts community gathering space offering high-quality cultural and community programming. Marcus Performing Arts Center is home to the Milwaukee Ballet, Florentine Opera and First Stage, plus a variety of other important community and family events throughout the year.  The touring Broadway series, sponsored by Johnson Financial Group, is recognized as bringing the best of Broadway entertainment to Milwaukee for the past 20 years.

 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.

VITERBO FINE ARTS CENTER in La Crosse, Wis., 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.