WAUSAU – Local high school theater departments and performers were recognized for their talents when Overture Center announced this year’s Jerry Awards recipients on April 20.
The Jerry Awards program encourages, recognizes and honors excellence in high school musical theater. The program began in the 2009-2010 school year and has since expanded across Wisconsin.
This year, 88 shows across the state were able to complete their runs and be reviewed, according to The Grand Theater in Wausau. Twenty-five schools had to cancel or cut short their runs of performances because of COVID-19, including local productions like Chequamegon High School’s The Addams Family, Wausau East’s Fiddler on the Roof, Merrill High Schools The Music Man, Marshfield High School’s Hello, Dolly!, and Antigo High School’s Anything Goes (which opened and closed on the same night). Regardless of how many shows schools were able to perform, Jerry Awards organizers feel that it is important to recognize all of the hard work put into educational theater performances this year.
The 2019/20 Jerry Awards program will culminate in a show honoring student and school achievements via a virtual Jerry Awards Celebration on the Jerry Awards Facebook Page on June 7. The Central Wisconsin Jerry Ensemble, featuring 16 students from eight area high schools, will perform in the opening number of the broadcast.
For more information on the Jerry Awards, visit the The Grand’s website at www.grandtheater.org/programs, contact The Grand’s Director of Education & Community Engagement Katy Lang at [email protected], or call The Grand’s Ticket Office at 715-842-0988.
North central Wisconsin schools received awards for their outstanding achievements in the following areas:
Outstanding Musical: Elf the Musical – D.C. Everest Senior High School
Outstanding Ensemble: Anything Goes – Antigo High School
Outstanding Ensemble: Disney’s Newsies – Rhinelander High School
Outstanding Direction: Fiddler on the Roof – Northland Pines High School
Outstanding Musical Direction: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast – Lakeland Union High School
Outstanding Orchestra: Anything Goes – Antigo High School
Outstanding Orchestra: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast – Lakeland Union High School
Outstanding Orchestra: Annie – Wausau West High School
Outstanding Lead Performance: Dane Gleason (Tevye) in Northland Pines’ Fiddler on the Roof, Reagan Kettner (Jovie) in DC Everest’s Elf the Musical, Isabella Kneeland (Reno) in Antigo’s Anything Goes, Roman Matusiewicz (Gaston) in Lakeland Union’s Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Ashlyn Lewis (Kicker) in DC Everest’s Children’s Letters to God, and Shannon O’Donnell (Donna) in SPASH’s Mamma Mia!
Outstanding Supporting Performance: Zander Amershek (Lefou) in Lakeland Union’s Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Ashlyn Lewis (Deb) in DC Everest’s Elf the Musical, Maegan Mansfield (Yente) in Northland Pines’ Fiddler on the Roof, Anna Montgomery (Evangeline) in Antigo’s Anything Goes, Morgan Phillipich (Chava) in Northland Pines’ Fiddler on the Roof, Somerset Seymer (Tzeitel) in Northland Pines’ Fiddler on the Roof, and Zach Tadiello (Cogsworth) in Lakeland Union’s Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
Outstanding Overall Design: Fiddler On the Roof – Northland Pines High School
Outstanding Scenic Design: Anything Goes – Antigo High School
Outstanding Costume Design: Anything Goes – Antigo High School
Outstanding Costume Design: Fiddler On the Roof – Northland Pines High School
Outstanding Stage Management: Fiddler On the Roof – Northland Pines High School
Outstanding Stage Management: Disney’s Newsies – Rhinelander High School
Outstanding Stage Management: Mamma Mia! – Stevens Point Area Senior High School
Spirit Award: Riya Bolander (Marshfield’s Hello, Dolly!), Grace Dorsey (Lakeland Union’s Disney’s Beauty and the Beast), Joshua Gardner (Rhinelander’s Disney’s Newsies), Houachoua Her (Wausau West’s Annie), Max Koepke (DC Everest’s Elf the Musical), Nicole Ravanelli (Northland Pines’ Fiddler on the Roof), Mary Thao (DC Everest’s Children’s Letters to God), and Lisa White (Rhinelander’s Disney’s Newsies)
For the full list of Jerry Award recipients, visit grandtheater.org/programs/jerry-awards.
