Contact: Robert Chappell, 608.258.4438 or 608.217.3042
Record-setting 63 Schools, One Community Theater, and Over 300 Students Honored for Excellence in High School Musical Theater; Awards Show Set for June 8
MADISON – Overture Center for the Arts today announced the recipients of the fifth annual Tom Wopat Awards for Excellence in Musical Theater, honoring 63 schools, one community theater and dozens of performers for their musical productions during the 2013/14 academic year. The recipients will be honored at a ceremony in Overture Hall on Sunday, June 8, which will feature performances and production numbers from honorees in several categories.
Twelve productions were honored as Outstanding Musicals, including Abundant Life Christian School for Annie; Catholic Memorial for Singin’ in the Rain; Divine Savior Holy Angels for Urinetown; Janesville School District for its summer production of Les Miserables; New Berlin Eisenhower, also for Les Miserables; Oconomowoc High School for Hairspray; Pius XI High School for Into the Woods; Portage High School for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast; Sauk Prairie High School for Les Miserables, Shorewood High School for both 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and West Side Story; and Wauwatosa West for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
This year saw a spike in participation, with the number of productions rising from from 54 to 66. Several schools entered multiple productions.
The number of outstanding lead performers also took a big leap, doubling from 35 to 70.
“We have an incredible amount of talent in this region,” said Tim Sauers, Overture Center’s vice president of programming, who oversees the Tommy Awards. “I couldn’t be more proud of all the schools, teachers and students who raise the bar year after year.”
Also new this year, participants from each school nominated a single student who embodied the values of the Tommy Awards to receive a Spirit Award.
“Talent is obviously important, but when it comes down to values, there’s a lot more to it,” said Sauers. “We value hard work, passion, creativity, teamwork — all the things you can’t hear from the stage, but that undoubtedly elevate the final production.”
A panel of three adjudicators with professional performance and education backgrounds attended each show, offered feedback to the performers, and made nominations.
Those named Outstanding Lead Performers are eligible to audition for the National High School Musical Theater Awards, and two students from among them will spend a week in New York this summer to participate in that nationwide competition.
Overture will also award a college scholarship with the support of the CUNA Mutual Group Foundation to Anja Gayle Pustaver of Middleton, who will begin studying vocal performance at UW-Stevens Point in the fall.
Overture’s Tommy Awards are named in honor of local musical theater hero Tom Wopat, critically acclaimed and Tony Award-nominated singer and actor. Born in Lodi, Wisconsin, Wopat first started singing and dancing in high school musicals, and studied music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before getting his “big break” in 1978 as Luke Duke in the immensely popular Dukes of Hazzard television show. He even directed several episodes during the show’s six-year run.
The Tommy Awards are funded in part by American Family Insurance, Alliant Energy Foundation, CUNA Mutual Group, The John A. Johnson Fund and contributions to Overture Center for the Arts. Additional support by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Tickets are on sale now for the Tommy Awards Final Ceremony. Tickets are $22 and can be purchased at the Overture Center Ticket Office, by phone at 608.258.4141 or online at overturecenter.org.
Overture Center will partner with Wisconsin Public Television for the second consecutive year to record the ceremony and air highlights on WPT stations in the fall.
Information about the Final Ceremony is available here.
