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The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center is proud to announce the 2022-23 Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program recognition recipients.

Throughout the 2022-23 school year, approximately 2,000 students from a record 31 local high schools have participated in the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program.

This year’s participating high schools are:

• Appleton East
• Ashwaubenon
• Brillion
• Chilton
• De Pere
• Denmark
• Fond du Lac
• Fox Valley Lutheran
• Green Bay East
• Green Bay Southwest
• Green Bay West
• Hortonville
• Kaukauna
• Little Chute
• Luxemburg-Casco
• Mishicot
• Neenah
• New London
• Notre Dame de la Baie Academy
• Oshkosh North
• Oshkosh West
• Preble
• Pulaski
• Shawano Community
• Southern Door
• St. Francis Xavier
• St. Mary Catholic
• Two Rivers
• West De Pere
• Weyauwega-Fremont
• Winnebago Lutheran Academy.

Center Stage was launched in 2016 as an education initiative that celebrates and supports the achievements of high school musical theater while developing confidence, creativity and collaboration among high school students throughout Northeast Wisconsin. Education opportunities are provided all season long for students and educators to learn and grow together in their craft. This year, workshops and programs were offered in both virtual and in-person formats.

A team of trained adjudicators attended the participating school’s musical production and provided educational feedback. Scores for each production were tabulated and applications were reviewed to determine the program recognition recipients. Participating schools and recognition recipients will be celebrated when the program culminates in a red carpet, Tony Awards® style showcase at the Center on May 6, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

At this showcase, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center will announce the two nominees who will be selected from an audition process to attend The Jimmy Awards®/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® Sunday, June 18 through Tuesday, June 27 in New York City. The week in New York will culminate with the 14th annual Jimmy Awards® on Monday, June 26 at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway.

Tickets for the Showcase are $15 for adults and $10 for students and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at the Fox Cities P.A.C. ticket office in person or by phone (920) 730-3760 or through Ticketmaster online. Additional fees may apply.

The 2022-23 Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program recognition recipients are:

Outstanding Ensemble

• Ashwaubenon High School – Guys and Dolls
• Denmark High School – Disney’s Newsies
• Fox Valley Lutheran High School – Anastasia: The Musical
• Green Bay Southwest High School – Bring It On The Musical
• Luxemburg-Casco High School – Mamma Mia!

Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role

• Maria Argueta as Queen Aggravain in St. Mary Catholic High School’s production of Once Upon a Mattress
• Alex Bowe as Leaf Coneybear in Chilton High School’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• Luke Calaway as Nathan Detroit in Ashwaubenon High School’s production of Guys and Dolls
• Lily Davis as Gomez Addams in Hortonville High School’s production of The Addams Family
• Jennifer Duarte Castillo as Medda Larkin in Green Bay East High School’s production of Disney’s Newsies
• Ahnya Dvorak as Maria Rainer in St. Francis Xavier High School’s production of The Sound of Music
• Amelia Gibbons as Campbell in Green Bay Southwest High School’s production of Bring It On The Musical
• Sam B. Hansmann as Harold Hill in Winnebago Lutheran Academy’s production of The Music Man
• Emily Hoeppner as Ariel in Notre Dame de la Baie Academy’s production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Timothy Huber as Shrek in Pulaski High School’s production of Shrek the Musical
• Aria Kiedinger as Ursula in De Pere High School’s production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Ella Mainville as Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in Neenah High School’s production of Anastasia: The Musical
• Hunter Malvitz as Gomez Addams in Southern Door High School’s production of The Addams Family
• Aubrey Mitchell as Cady in West De Pere High School’s production of Mean Girls: High School Edition
• Grace Peters as Anya in Fox Valley Lutheran High School’s production of Anastasia: The Musical
• Lauren Rank as Alice Beineke in Preble High School’s production of The Addams Family
• Owen Schulze as Edward Bloom in Oshkosh North High School’s production of Big Fish
• Ethan Stokes as SpongeBob SquarePants in Two Rivers High School’s production of The SpongeBob Musical
• Joseph Thuecks as Harry in Luxemburg-Casco High School’s production of Mamma Mia!
• Olivia Weyenberg as Miss Adelaide in Ashwaubenon High School’s production of Guys and Dolls

Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role

• Ryann Baker as Babette in New London High School’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
• Isabelle Bestul as Baroness Elsa Schraeder in St. Francis Xavier High School’s production of The Sound of Music
• Laura Brown as Bridget in Green Bay Southwest High School’s production of Bring It On The Musical
• Amelia Chrudimsky as Flounder in Notre Dame de la Baie Academy’s production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Ava Coppo as Flounder/Chef Louis in De Pere High School’s production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Aren Damayo as Benny Southstreet in Ashwaubenon High School’s production of Guys and Dolls
• Jonathan Gudex as Winthrop Paroo in Winnebago Lutheran Academy’s production of The Music Man
• Lydia Smith as Mrs. Paroo in Winnebago Lutheran Academy’s production of The Music Man
• Matt Suprise as Max Detweiler in St. Francis Xavier High School’s production of The Sound of Music
• Alex Walsh as The King in St. Mary Catholic High School’s production of Once Upon a Mattress

Outstanding Student Pit Orchestra

• Green Bay East High School – Disney’s Newsies
• Green Bay Southwest High School – Bring It On The Musical
• Neenah High School – Anastasia: The Musical

Backstage Spirit

• Kerstin Goetsch, Shawano Community High School

Community Engagement

• Oshkosh West High School with their production of The SpongeBob Musical

Inspiration Through the Arts Scholarship

• Amelia Gibbons, Green Bay Southwest High School
• Wren Xiong, Little Chute High School

Outstanding Achievement

• Jera Jennings, Oshkosh North High School

Outstanding Student Hair/Makeup Artist

• Katelyn Krause and Elizabeth Kelly, Pulaski High School

Outstanding Student Stage Manager

• Catherine Ericksen, De Pere High School

Influential Theater Educator Nominees

• Wendy Bixby, Fox Valley Lutheran High School
• Peggy Eserkaln, West De Pere High School
• Andrea Gilson, Notre Dame de la Baie Academy
• Jonathan Kobs, Brillion High School
• Bethany Meyer, Oshkosh West High School
• Dan Van Eperen, Little Chute High School

COMMUNITY SUPPORT
The Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program is an educational initiative of the Fox Cities P.A.C. with support from corporate partner Fox Communities Credit Union. Additional partners in this program include Schneider Foundation, WFRV, Wipfli and Angelo and Jennifer Ninivaggi. Programs like the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program are also supported in part by contributions to the Center’s Annual Partner Campaign.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS
The Jimmy Awards®/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (NHSMTA®) program impacts more than 140,000 students who participate in 48 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. Presented by The Broadway League Foundation, Inc., the NHSMTA invites one Best Actress and one Best Actor nominee from each local regional ceremony to New York City for a week-long theatre intensive that includes coaching sessions, training, and rehearsing led by some of Broadway’s most accomplished professionals. Nominees will spend one week in New York City from Sunday, June 18, 2023, through Tuesday, June 27, 2023, and their efforts throughout the week will lead to one extraordinary talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on a Broadway stage. The fourteenth annual Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 26, 2023, at the Minskoff Theatre. For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.

Written by Philomena Dorobek, Brand Storyteller
Fox Cities Performing Arts Center