Road to the Jimmys, Episode 3: Opening Doors for Students Through Wisconsin’s Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program

The 2022 Jimmy Awards
(Photo: Tricia Baron)

If the Tony Awards speak to what’s happening on Broadway now, the Jimmy Awards provide a forecast of Broadway’s future. Formally known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, the Jimmy Awards are an annual celebration of outstanding musical theater talent in high schools across America—from Dallas to Des Moines, San Antonio to San Diego, Memphis to Minneapolis. This year’s Jimmy Awards will be held on June 24 at the Minskoff Theatre. Until then, The Broadway Show will be chronicling the Road to the Jimmys, spotlighting a few of the regional competitions that send their most talented teens to New York City each spring.

In the third installment of Road to the Jimmys, we visit the Midwest with Maria Van Laanen, President and CEO of the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton, WI. She oversees the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program, now in its eighth year and one of the many regional programs responsible for fostering future Jimmy Award nominees. “[It] is an opportunity to really showcase, first of all, the strength of the programs in our community,” said Van Laanen of the blossoming ecosystem of artists throughout Northeast Wisconsin. “It gives our students an opportunity to really broaden an awareness of what career paths are possible within the industry, and really get them excited about all that they can achieve when they pursue their dreams.” 

Learn more about the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Program in the full video below.