The Jerrys: Two students return amazed and inspired after attending the Jimmy Awards® in New York City
Mary Cait McManamon
Pictured above: (L-R) Overture's Co-CEO and Chief Artistic Experiences Officer Tim Sauers, Nolan Travis and Lucy Natale on stage at the 2025 Jerry Awards. Photo by Mark Frohna.
Back from New York City, we caught up with students Nolan Travis and Lucy Natale to hear about their experience representing Overture Center at the Jimmy Awards® on Monday, June 23!
About the Jimmy’s
Presented by the Broadway League Foundation, the National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (the Jimmy Awards®) are a national celebration of outstanding student achievement, recognizing individual artistry in vocal, dance and acting performance and elevating the importance of theatre arts education in schools. Each year, two students are selected from regional competitions from across the country to attend workshops and perform in New York City.
Here at Overture Center, our regional awards—the Jerrys—took place on Sunday, June 8 in Overture Hall. Nearly 1,000 students from across the state came together to perform numbers from their local high school musicals in an end-of-year showcase.
The low-cost program began in the 2009/10 school year, originally named the Tommy Awards, as a way to honor the excellent work being done and to elevate the importance of musical theater in Wisconsin high schools. It was renamed in the 2017/18 season to the Jerry Awards after philanthropist and arts supporter W. Jerome Frautschi. Throughout the school year, educators and industry professionals attend productions at about 115 high schools in 30 counties around the state, providing valuable feedback.
This year, the students selected to attend the Jimmy Awards® in New York City were Lucy, a senior at Parker Arts Academy in Janesville and Nolan, a senior at Wausau West High School.
Lucy Natale performs "The Mad Hatter" from Wonderland at the 2025 Jerry Awards
Meet Lucy
Favorite Musical: Sweeney Todd
What is something you learned at the Jimmy’s? I learned SO much at the Jimmy’s, but specifically I learned a lot about different approaches to acting. I worked with two different coaches—both which were absolutely amazing. Q Smith was my preliminary coach. She gave us an exercise to pick three words for the beginning, middle and end of the song. This was extremely helpful when trying to portray a character's journey. My finals coach was Janet Dacal, and she helped me center my emotions and ground my song.
Something you will never forget about the Jimmy’s: I'll never forget the true sense of community I felt while I was there. Everyone was supportive, kind and obviously extremely talented. I just felt like I was where I was meant to be. I want to thank everyone at Overture Center, especially Tim Sauers, Karra Beach, Gail Becker and Adam Shelton, for presenting me with this experience. It's truly something I'll never forget.
One word to describe your experience: Inspirational
Nolan Travis performs "When the Booth Goes Bright" from Amélie at the 2025 Jerry Awards
Meet Nolan
Favorite musical: Kinky Boots
What is something you learned at the Jimmy’s? Something I learned at the Jimmy’s was storytelling and the importance of picking pieces you can connect with and enjoy performing.
What will you never forget about the Jimmy’s? I will never forget the people I met. I think what makes this experience so memorable is how everyone came together for a week despite not knowing where you’ll see these people again.
One word to describe your experience: Amazing!
Congratulations to Lucy and Nolan on representing Wisconsin at the Jimmy’s! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for both of you.
Overture Center is an independent nonprofit arts organization, and programs like this are made possible thanks to community support.
The Jimmy Awards®/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (NHSMTA®) program impacts approximately 150,000 students who participate in 55 regional high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of touring Broadway productions throughout the United States. Named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, the program has been the catalyst for more than $6,000,000 in educational scholarships since its launch in 2009. Presented by The Broadway League Foundation, Inc., the NHSMTA invites two nominees from each local regional ceremony to New York City for a rigorous theatre intensive that includes coaching sessions, training and rehearsals led by some of Broadway’s most accomplished professionals. Nominees spend 10 days in New York City (Friday, June 13, 2025, through Tuesday, June 24, 2025), and their experience culminates in an extraordinary talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on a Broadway stage. The sixteenth annual Jimmy Awards took place on Monday, June 23, 2025, at the Minskoff Theatre. For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.
Overture Center is pleased to partner with The Grand Theater and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, expanding the reach of the Jerry Awards to Wausau and Milwaukee area schools. Thank you to the American Girl Fund for Children and Madison Community Foundation for their support of this program.