SCERA's 3rd Annual Jerry Elison Scholarship Concert to be Held 11/1

Jerry Elison is arguably the best known theater person in Utah Valley-and no one who thinks otherwise could put up much of an argument. For more than six decades, Elison, clad in his signature suspenders, has directed literally tens of thousands of children, teens and adults in musical theater.

So when the 83-year-old veteran director was asked to lend his name and talents for a scholarship concert at the SCERA Center for the Arts, his response was, "If it helps the arts, then let's do it."

Elison, who has been directing musicals and plays since graduating from BYU 60 years ago, knows the value of the arts. As a child, he used to write plays, recruit his friends to play parts and then take them on the road to a local school. During the Great Depression, money was scarce, but if he could find ten pennies inside the cushions of the couch and car, Elison could attend the high school plays. If he couldn't come up with the coins, he was devastated.

Over the decades, his talents have been seen many places, including Utah and Idaho school districts, Sundance Summer Theatre, SCERA, and Hale Center Theatre Orem.

Many of Elison's friends and former cast members will join him Saturday, Nov. 1 at 7:00 p.m. for the 3rd Annual Jerry Elison Scholarship Concert. They will perform showtunes from some of the director's favorite musicals, and the proceeds will provide drama scholarships for students, educators and arts organizations.

"People flock to be able to honor Jerry this way," says Shawn Mortensen, who is busy putting the show together, but also taking the time to perform a selection from "A Year with Frog and Toad," a Jerry-directed show in which Mortensen starred.

Reserved-seat tickets are $10 for ages three and older and are available in advance from 10am-6pm weekdays and Saturdays from 12Noon-6pm at the main office of the SCERA Center, 745 South State, Orem, by calling (801) 225-ARTS, or online at www.scera.org.

Proceeds from the concert will be used in a variety of ways. With Elison's crucial input, scholarships could be given to junior or senior high school drama departments, a student who wants to take an acting class and can't afford the tuition, college students majoring in drama, or local theatres and productions.

"We want to be inclusive in our scholarships," says Adam J. Robertson, SCERA's President and CEO. "We are confident we will be able to help at least three groups or individuals each year."

"I am so honored but also a little embarrassed," Elison says. "SCERA always treats me so well."

But Jerry's accomplishments are nothing to be embarrassed about. With more than 60 years of musical theater to his credit, it adds up to a few hundred plays and thousands of individuals who have worked with the beloved thespian.

Performers will sing selections from some of Elison's favorite musicals, most of them beloved classics. There will also be touching and hilarious anecdotes from "Mr. E.'s" life.

"We have no lack of people interested in being in this show," Mortensen says. "People jump at the chance to let Jerry know what an influence he has had on their lives and to help raise money for drama scholarships in his name."

Among the selections for the evening will be a number from "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," which Elison directed this past summer at the Shell. David and Brittni Smith, who met on the set of Elison's "Oklahoma!" in 2004-and subsequently got married-will reprise a number from the classic show that brought them together.

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