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For immediate release: Thursday, May 31, 2018 Contact: Sarah Knab | 608.258.4438 Click here for images. Interview/performance opportunities are available.

Jerry Award Recipients Advance to the Jimmy Awards in Corinna Smith, Junior at Edgewood HS in Madison, Makes Her Debut on a Broadway Stage Max Pink, Senior at Shorewood HS in Milwaukee, Returns to The Jimmy Awards for a Second Year

Madison, Wis. – Overture Center for the Arts announced today that two Jerry Award ‘Outstanding Leading Performance’ recipients auditioned and were selected to advance to The Jimmy® Awards, also known as the National Theatre Awards (NHSMTA), held in New York City on Monday, June 25, 2018, hosted by Tony Award® winner .

Corinna Smith | Junior at Edgewood High School in Madison, Wis. • Received one ‘Outstanding Leading Performance’ Jerry Award this year: o Amalia Balash in She Loves Me Max Pink | Senior at Shorewood High School in Milwaukee, Wis. • Received one ‘Outstanding Leading Performance’ Jerry Award this year: o Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden • Received one ‘Outstanding Supporting Performance’ Jerry Award this year: o Cinderella’s Prince in

Smith and Pink, two of 57 recipients of a Jerry Award for ‘Outstanding Leading Performance,’ will join 80 high school student Nominees from 40 Regional Awards Programs across America competing for the Jimmy® for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress at the tenth annual presentation. The talent showcase will feature dynamic ensemble and solo performances at Broadway’s , 200 West 45th Street in Manhattan.

“The tenth celebration of the Jimmy Awards is the biggest yet in the history of the program. We’re marking this major milestone with more students, more schools and more stars in the making than ever before,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of . “We are thrilled that over the past decade so many participants have earned scholarships and have had the opportunity to advance their careers. Through the years, Jimmys participants have gone on to university, conservatory, touring Broadway and performing on Broadway – one was even a Tony nominee last season. Who knows what will happen next.”

Student performers qualify to compete in the national program by receiving top honors at regional high school musical awards programs, like The Jerry Awards program, presented by Broadway League member performing arts centers. Over 1,500 high schools and 100,000 students from 24 states now participate in these annual events.

Jimmy Awards nominees will prepare for their debut on a Broadway stage during a ten-day professional training intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts' New Studio with Broadway faculty members plus other theatre professionals. Winners will be selected by a panel of industry experts.

Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, CLO, and Broadway Education Alliance (BEA), the mission of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) is to raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, recognize dedicated teachers, and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts. Since the inception of the program, participating students have earned over $2,000,000 in university and conservatory scholarships. Several student participants have already been cast in Broadway, Touring and West End productions.

The Jimmy Awards are presented by the Broadway League Foundation in honor of legendary Broadway producer/theatre owner James M. Nederlander, and are supported by many leading theatre industry organizations. More information about the National High School Musical Theatre Awards program can be found at JIMMYAWARDS.COM.

The Broadway League conducts the program through The Broadway League Foundation, which acts as its philanthropic arm. Part of the Foundation’s mission is to enlighten and increase the public's knowledge, appreciation and awareness of the theatrical arts, and since its founding in 1993, has supported a number of projects to help preserve Broadway's heritage and expose new audiences to . The Foundation is a corporation organized under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of the State of New York, the purposes of which are exclusively charitable as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Donations to support the program can be made at JimmyAwards.com.

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THE BROADWAY LEAGUE (Charlotte St. Martin, President), founded in 1930, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League’s 700-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers who present in nearly 200 markets in North America. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and on tour across the U.S. and Canada. The Broadway League has recently added a new category for International membership to collaborate with professionals from around the world who produce and present Broadway quality theatre. The Broadway League annually co-presents the Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards®, one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry. Key League programs and resources include: Kids’ Night on Broadway®, The Jimmys®, Stars in the Alley®, Internet Broadway Database® (ibdb.com), Broadway.org, SpotlightonBroadway.com, Commercial Theater Institute (with Theatre Development Fund), as well as numerous conferences and forums for our members. Broadway Bridges™, with the support of the New York City Department of Education, is aimed at giving every New York City public high school student the opportunity to see a Broadway show before graduation. TheatreAccessNYC (co-produced with TDF) is the one-stop website of accessible Broadway performances for theatregoers with disabilities. Broadway.org is the League’s official on-line headquarters for Broadway in NYC, on tour, and internationally.

OVERTURE’S JERRY AWARDS program has encouraged, recognized and honored excellence in high school musical theater since 2009/10. Throughout this time, the program has grown into one that is recognized nationally and several recipients have grown into career musical theater professionals representing 95 productions across 89 schools/community theater organizations. The Awards were renamed in spring 2018 to honor Madison philanthropist, W. Jerome Frautschi.

OVERTURE CENTER FOR THE ARTS in Madison, Wis., features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and five galleries where national and international touring artists, ten resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in nearly 700,000 educational and artistic experiences each year. Overture.org

LAURA BENANTI is a Tony Award-winning actress who began her Broadway career at the age of 18, starring opposite Richard Chamberlain in . Since then, Laura has appeared in 9 Broadway shows (including Gypsy and She Loves Me), been nominated for 5 (winning for Gypsy), and continues to have a flourishing television career. Recent TV appearances include “The Detour” (current series regular), “Nashville,” “Supergirl,” “The Good Wife” and frequent appearances as Melania Trump on “Late Night with Stephen Colbert.”