Jerry Ensemble Cabaret

press release: The Jerry Ensemble Cabaret is back! On Tuesday, April 26 at 7 p.m., members of the Southern Wisconsin Jerry Ensemble will dazzle audience members in a 75-minute cabaret-style performance in Overture Center’s Promenade Hall. Tickets ($25) are available at overture.org.

“The year-end cabaret is a unique and important experience for the students because in between singing musical theater numbers, we ask them to talk to the audience like a cabaret artist would,” said Karra Beach, Overture’s director of Broadway engagement programs. “This gives students an opportunity to share about themselves and their song selection and helps the audience get to know the students.”

The accomplished singers of the Jerry Ensemble participate in the group 2-4 years each, delighting audiences with songs from musical theater, movies, legendary artists and more. They present solos, duets, trios and group performances in front of a variety of audiences in a variety of settings each year, including the Jerry Awards Ceremony, Cocktails with Tim & Karra, UW basketball games and Kids in the Rotunda. According to Beach, performing live with the ensemble helps students develop poise and confidence while building technical skills in acting, singing and dancing.

The cabaret event will feature group numbers, duets, trios and special showcase numbers for the Jerry Ensemble seniors.

Overture Center’s Jerry Ensembles are premier performance groups representing the Jerry Awards, featuring select vocal performers.

Students performing include:

Lucas Finley, Abundant Life Christian; Aleah Frank, Sun Prairie High School; Catherine Gernetzke, St. Ambrose Academy; Gracie Halverson, Madison West High School; Dalaney Lange, DeForest Area High School; Brendan Moore, Oregon; Malea Niesen, Sauk Prairie; Faith Oldenburg, home school; Laura Perry, Stoughton High School; Leela Peterson, Monona Grove High School; Sam Ross, Stoughton High School; Jillian Sytsma, Madison Memorial High School.

The Jerry Awards is a high school musical awards program that encourages, recognizes and honors excellence in high school musical theater. The program began in the 2009/10 school year with 23 productions within 45 miles of Madison and has since expanded across the state through partnerships with Marcus Performing Arts Center, The Grand Theater and Viterbo University Fine Arts Center. Educators and industry professionals review productions at Wisconsin high schools and/or community theater organizations and provide valuable feedback to students. In its first decade, the Jerry Awards engaged more than 700,000 students, teachers, theater professionals and community members and has grown into a nationally recognized showcase of the brightest stars in Wisconsin high school musical theater.

Students in participating high schools can participate in the Central or Southern Jerry Ensemble. Students are selected through auditions each year. The Central Wisconsin Jerry Ensemble is directed by Marshall DeLonay and the Southern Wisconsin Jerry Ensemble is directed by Gail Becker.

Overture Center is pleased to partner with Marcus Performing Arts Center, The Grand Theater, Viterbo University and PBS Wisconsin. Additional funding for The Jerry Awards is provided by Katie Dowling-Marcus & Ben Marcus and contributions to Overture Center for the Arts.

Please view our health and safety policies at overture.org/health. Overture Center Building Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11-6; Sunday, 12-6; and extended hours on event days.