Madison, Wis. — Overture Center for the Arts announced today that cast and crew members from St. Mary’s Springs Academy in Fond du Lac have been nominated for awards through its Jerry Awards program. This is the 5th year SMSA has participated in the Jerry Awards. The program, named after Madison-area philanthropist and arts supporter W. Jerome Frautschi, encourages, recognizes and honors excellence in musical theater. Ninety-seven high schools and community theaters from 28 Wisconsin counties participated in this year’s Jerry Awards. St. Mary’s Springs Academy’s production of “SWEENEY TODD – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” received the following nominations:
Matthew Padillo ’23 – Lead, Sweeney Todd – Winner of this year’s Jerry Award
Madelyn R. ’26 – Lead, Mrs. Lovett
Gavin R. ’24 – Supporting Role, Adolfo Pirelli
Annabelle S. ’26 – Supporting Role, Beggar Woman
This year, the program has 500-plus award recipients from 105 productions in 97 communities across the state. These productions were at schools of varying sizes with varying budgets. “I continue to be impressed at the high quality of high school musical theater programs across our state,” said Tim Sauers, chief artistic experiences officer. “I applaud them all for their dedication and commitment to ensuring that students have access and the opportunity to excel.” 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 Center for the Performing Arts and The Grand Theater. 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.
Participation statistics for the 2022/23 season:
105 productions
97 schools/community theater organizations
43 schools are represented in the 56 Outstanding Lead Performance Award recipients
28 counties
50 reviewers (three reviewers attended each production)
450+ students performing in annual awards shows in Overture Hall
105,000 people involved in the Jerry Awards through engagement with their local high school musical
The program elevates the importance of musical theater within high schools. Students at participating high schools can also participate in The Jerry Ensemble, become student social influencers and receive special ticket deals to performances at Overture Center, The Marcus Performing Arts Center and The Grand Theater.
AWARDS SHOW – The 2022/23 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 11 at 6:30 p.m. Two outstanding lead performers will be selected to represent the program at The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (Jimmy Awards) competition in New York City. Overture’s Jerry Awards are sponsored by American Girl’s Fund for Children, Katie Dowling-Marcus and Ben Marcus and contributions to Overture Center.
