Overture Center’s Jerry Awards
The Grand is thrilled to collaborate with the Overture Center to bring the Jerry Awards to North Central Wisconsin. The Jerry Awards, one of Wisconsin’s High School Musical Awards Programs, encourages, recognizes, and honors excellence in high school musical theater. The program began in 2009 school year as the Tommy Awards, and was renamed The Jerry Awards after philanthropist and arts supporter W. Jerome Frautschi in 2018. Educators and industry professionals review productions at more than 85 high schools in 30 counties around the state providing valuable feedback. The program elevates the importance of musical theater within high schools.
Each year, school and student achievements are honored and featured in an awards show held at Overture Center in Madison in June, and two outstanding performers advance to The National High School Musical Theater Awards competition in New York City.
Students at participating high schools can participate in the Jerry Performance Ensemble, become a Student Critic and attend workshops with Broadway tour performers. Check out the Student Participation Guide for more information.
2018-19 Jerry Awards Recipients
Congratulations to all the 2019 Jerry Award nominees and recipients in the North Central Region and across the state! View the full list of recipients here: 2019 Jerry Awards Recipients
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
Jerry Awards Show
The 2019 Jerry Awards Show was held on Sunday, June 9, 2019 at 3:00 PM and 7:30 PM at Overture Center for the Arts in Downtown Madison, and dozens of Central Wisconsin performers were represented!
Wisconsin Public Television live-streamed both performances in their entirety, and the footage can be found at wpt.org/jerrys.
For more information on the Jerry Awards, contact Katy Lang at the Grand Theater by email or by phone at 715-842-0988. To learn more about the Central Wisconsin Jerry Ensemble click here.