Two De Pere High School students and the entire cast of the school’s production of Annie were recognized recently by the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center’s Center Stage high school musical theater program.
Judges picked senior Mary Baumgardt for the outstanding performance in a lead role category and junior Caiya Klish for the outstanding performance in a supporting role category.
Baumgardt played the orphanage matron, Miss Hannigan, and Klish played Grace Farrell, secretary of Daddy Warbucks.
Director Raquel Lopez has been working with Baumgardt for four years and Klish for three and says they’re two “extremely talented young women with innate stage direction.”
“They are not only strong actors but strong singers, dancers and leaders,” she said. “I’m always confident in casting them, as I know they put in the time and effort to do the ‘homework’ to go the extra mile with their characters.”
The entire De Pere High School cast of Annie won the spirit award and the school also earned recognition for its community engagement.
More than 2,100 students from 34 high schools in Northeast Wisconsin took part in the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program during the 2024-25 school year, according to Center Stage material.
Throughout the year, judges attended student events of the schools participating in the Center Stage program, scoring each production and providing feedback.
Other local schools participating included Ashwaubenon, Denmark, Green Bay East, Green Bay Southwest, Green Bay West, Notre Dame de La Baie Academy, Pulaski and Denmark.
Next month, on May 17 at 7:30 p.m., the students will attend the Center Stage Showcase, a red carpet, Tony Awards-style awards ceremony at the Appleton P.A.C.
At the Center Stage Showcase, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center will announce two students who will be chosen for their performances in their high school musicals and selected through a separate audition to attend The Jimmy Awards/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards June 13-24 in New York City. They’ll spend 10 days in New York, culminating in the 16th annual Jimmy Awards on Monday, June 23 at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway.
Lopez said she’s been doing “Annie” for several years and thought she knew everything about it.
“No two years are alike, and right when you think you know what you are doing — things change,” Lopez said.
Lopez has been directing the fall musical for DPHS for the last seven years. The school’s been taking part in the Center Stage program for the last six years.
Nostalgia plays a role in the continued popularity in Annie, she said.
“A challenge in this show was how could we bring our own personality to the characters while holding true to memories so many have of the show,” she said.
“What I learned was that I was really the only one holding tightly onto the memories of Annie, and the students didn’t have much problem bringing their own flair — so I just let them be, and soon I had new memories of what the musical should look like.”
Klish has been in Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, Seussical the Musical, The Book of Life, and Annie.
She said Annie was one of the first shows in which her character was almost exclusively a soprano.
“This meant that I had to shift my focus during rehearsal to really strengthen my upper register and be able to see what that was like in a performance setting,” she said.
Klish said she’s grateful and excited about the recent recognition from Center Stage.
“Receiving a CenterStage award has been a dream of mine throughout high school, and I have been working very hard to get to where I am,” she said. “I am so thankful to be recognized for that.”
She said she can’t wait for the opportunity to dress up with her peers for the event at the PAC.
Baumgardt’s musical repertoire includes Matilda the Musical her freshman year, The Little Mermaid her sophomore year, and 9 to 5 the Musical her junior year. She said she found her role with Annie to be different because her character had an accent that proved challenging for her.
“(Miss) Hannigan‘s movements and dialogue (were) supposed to resemble a drunk person, and so I had to be a lot more dramatic,” she said.
She said she’s “super excited” about the honor from Center Stage but also never really considered it a possibility before. “It’s such an honor to even be considered,” she said, adding that she’s preparing by practicing her songs and working on them with her voice teacher. “I can’t wait to meet the other nominees and make friends,” she said.
Others from the greater Green Bay area who scored recognitions included:
Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role:
Gwen Rybak as Princess Winnifred in Pulaski’s production of Once Upon a Mattress
Honorable mentions for lead roles:
Joelle Jefferson as Davey in Green Bay Southwest’s production of Disney’s Newsies
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
Inspiration Through the Arts Scholarship:
Amelia Chrudimsky, Notre Dame Academy
Outstanding Ensemble:
Green Bay Southwest High School and their production of Disney’s Newsies
Notre Dame Academy and their production of Freaky Friday
Pulaski High School and their production of Once Upon a Mattress
Outstanding Student Pit Orchestra:
Pulaski High School
Outstanding Student-Run Crew:
Denmark High School
The Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program started nine years ago as an educational program that “celebrates and supports the achievements of high school musical theater while developing confidence, creativity and community among high school students,” according to Center Stage.
“This ninth year of the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program has been another wonderful year for high school students to build relationships and celebrate high school musical theater with their peers,” said PAC Chief Programming Officer Amy Gosz in a statement. “It was inspiring to witness the students supporting each other 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.”
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