Star 98 is excited to announce a very special partnership with the Fox Cities P.A.C. for the Center Stage Program!

Program Overview: The Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program is a Fox Cities P.A.C. education initiative that celebrates and supports the achievements of high school theater students both on and off the stage. Throughout the school year, students in Northeast Wisconsin develop confidence, creativity, collaboration and camaraderie as they celebrate their peers and school communities. Through the Center Stage Program, local students engage in various learning opportunities including performing and attending performances, receiving educational feedback on their school’s musical productions, participating in interactive workshops with local and touring arts professionals, and celebrating each other’s accomplishments at the year-end Showcase. Get more information about the program HERE! https://foxcitiespac.com/education/program-overview/

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center announces the 2024-25 Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program recognition recipients.

Showcase on May 17, 2025 will celebrate achievements in high school musical theater in Northeast Wisconsin

Throughout the 2024-25 school year, more than 2,100 students from a record 34 local high schools in Northeast Wisconsin participated in the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program.

The Center Stage Program was launched in 2016 as an education initiative that celebrates and supports the achievements of high school musical theater while developing confidence, creativity and community 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’s participating high schools are:

• Appleton East
• Ashwaubenon 
• Brillion 
• Chilton 
• De Pere 
• Denmark 
• Fox Valley Lutheran
• Gibraltar 
• Green Bay East 
• Green Bay Southwest 
• Green Bay West 
• Hortonville 
• Howards Grove
• Kaukauna 
• Little Chute
• Luxemburg-Casco
• Manitowoc Lincoln
• Menasha
• Mishicot
• Neenah
• New London
• Notre Dame de la Baie Academy
• Oshkosh North
• Oshkosh West
• Pulaski
• Shawano Community
• Sheboygan Falls
• Southern Door
• St. Francis Xavier
• St. Mary Catholic
• Two Rivers
• Valders
• Weyauwega-Fremont
• Winnebago Lutheran Academy

A team of trained adjudicators attended the participating schools’ musical productions 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 17 at 7:30 p.m.

At the Center Stage Showcase, two nominees will be announced as the regional representatives to participate in The Jimmy Awards®/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® Friday, June 13 through Tuesday, June 24 in New York City. The national program includes workshops and masterclasses with industry professionals and culminates with the 16th annual Jimmy Awards on Monday, June 23 at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway.

“This year of the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program has been another wonderful opportunity for high school students to build relationships and celebrate high school musical theater with their peers,” said Chief Programming Officer Amy Gosz. “It was inspiring to witness the students supporting one another by attending and cheering each other on at their productions. It has also been moving to read the articles that Center Stage ambassadors have been writing about their peers and events, as well as to watch the students’ diligent efforts to expand the encouraging music and theater community into their schools.”

Tickets for the Center Stage Showcase 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 the Fox Cities P.A.C. website or Ticketmaster online. Additional fees may apply.

The 2024-25 Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program recognition recipients are:

Community Engagement – Partner: Wipfli LLP

• Brillion High School

Fox Cities Performing Arts Center Spirit Recognition

• De Pere High School

Honorable Mention in a Lead Role

• Allyana Mikeal as Eurydice in Valders’ production of Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Grace Peters as Jane Porter in Fox Valley Lutheran’s production of Tarzan
• Isaac Moscinski as Jean Valjean in Appleton East’s production of Les Misérables
• Joelle Jefferson as Davey in Green Bay Southwest’s production of Disney’s Newsies
• Julia Skinner as Ariel Moore in Oshkosh West’s production of Footloose
• Katie Naegele as Delilah McPhee in Two Rivers’ production of Between the Lines
• Maame-Kyema Asiamah as Ellie in Notre Dame’s production of Freaky Friday
• Sofia Collins as Drowsy Chaperone in Ashwaubenon’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone
• Tynan Conway as Uncle Fester in Denmark’s production of The Addams Family
• Vincent Kroes as Tinman in Menasha’s production of The Wizard of Oz

Influential Theater Educator Nominees – Partner: Nicolet National Bank

• Bethany Meyer, Director at Oshkosh West High School
• Bonita Weydt, Music Director at Southern Door High School
• Charlotte Deehr, Director at Chilton High School
• Deanne Stokes, Director at Manitowoc Lincoln and Two Rivers High Schools
• Files, Pit Orchestra Director at Southern Door High School
• Jennifer Farrell, Director of the Engler Center at Chilton High School
• Kevin Spindler, Director at New London High School
• Lizbeth Thomas, Director at Gibraltar High School
• Mary Hall, Director at Southern Door High School
• Molly Suehs, Director at Weyauwega-Fremont High School
• Shannon Meulbroek, Music Director at Two Rivers High School

Inspiration Through the Arts Scholarship – Partners: Johnson Financial Group and Star98

• Amelia Chrudimsky, Notre Dame Academy
• Mia McCartney, New London High School

Outstanding Achievement – Partner: Angelo & Jennifer Ninivaggi

• Benedict Salmi Klotz, Gibraltar High School

Outstanding Ensemble

• Fox Valley Lutheran High School and their production of Tarzan
• Green Bay Southwest High School and their production of Disney’s Newsies
• New London High School and their production of Guys and Dolls
• Notre Dame Academy and their production of Freaky Friday
• Pulaski High School and their production of Once Upon a Mattress
• Two Rivers High School and their production of Between the Lines

Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role

• Caleb Johnson as Young Terk/Terk in Fox Valley Lutheran’s production of Tarzan
• Chloe Johanek as Grace McPhee in Two Rivers’ production of Between the Lines
• Everett Magnuson as Trunchbull in Weyauwega-Fremont’s Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
• Greta Nolte as Kala in Fox Valley Lutheran’s production of Tarzan
• Gwen Rybak as Princess Winnifred in Pulaski’s production of Once Upon a Mattress
• Isaac Schultz as Buddy in Brillion’s production of Elf the Musical
• Kaci Franzen as Regina George in Kaukauna’s production of Mean Girls High School Version
• Lily Lemery as Miss Adelaide in New London’s production of Guys and Dolls
• Mary Baumgardt as Miss Hannigan in De Pere’s production of Annie
• Mary McCurdy as Maria Rainer in St. Mary Catholic’s production of The Sound of Music
• Noah Wright as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in New London’s production of Guys and Dolls
• Tito Fliehman as Scarecrow in Menasha’s production of The Wizard of Oz

Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role

• Caiya Klish as Grace Farrell in De Pere’s production of Annie
• Elizabeth Davis as Joy in St. Francis Xavier’s production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Enchanted Edition)
• Emma Murphy as Lavendar in Weyauwega-Fremont’s Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
• Ethan Pelch as Porter in Fox Valley Lutheran’s production of Tarzan
• Evy Pamenter as Carol Strong in Oshkosh North’s production of Catch Me If You Can
• Jack Clark as Max Detweiller in St. Mary Catholic’s production of The Sound of Music
• Jude Alrand as Mr. Snoring Man/Ezekiel Foster in Southern Door’s Irving Berlin’s White Christmas
• Juliette Bergstrom as Liesel Von Trapp in St. Mary Catholic’s production of The Sound of Music
• Lillian Murray-Heller as Aunt Em/Glinda in Menasha’s production of The Wizard of Oz
• Tim Bienert as Kerchak in Fox Valley Lutheran’s production of Tarzan

Outstanding Student Lighting Operator

• Will Verhagen, Southern Door High School

Outstanding Student Pit Orchestra

• Neenah High School
• Pulaski High School
• Valders High School

Outstanding Student Run Crew

• Denmark High School
• Kaukauna High School
• Mishicot High School

Outstanding Student Sound Operator

• Carter Elgin, Shawano Community High School

Outstanding Student Stage Manager

• Mia McCartney, New London High School

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

The Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program is an education initiative of the Fox Cities P.A.C. with support from corporate partner Fox Communities Credit Union.

Additional partners in this program include Johnson Financial Group, Nicolet National Bank, Angelo and Jennifer Ninivaggi, Schneider Foundation, Star98, WFRV, and Wipfli LLP. 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 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 will spend ten days in New York City from Friday, June 13, 2025, through Tuesday, June 24, 2025, and their experience will culminate in an extraordinary talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on a Broadway stage. The sixteenth annual Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 23, 2025, at the Minskoff Theatre. For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.

ABOUT THE FOX CITIES PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 
The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and cultural education organization located in downtown Appleton, provides a premier venue for live performing arts. Since 2002, the Center has proudly served as a multicultural gathering place for the community to engage in educational opportunities while enhancing a greater understanding and appreciation of life through the live performing arts. The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center — Where the Arts Come Alive!