About Next Stage

Next Stage started as a pilot program and presented its first musical, “Crazy For You,” in the summer of 2015 under the direction of St. Norbert faculty members Michael Rosewall (pit orchestra and vocals) and Sarah Parks (advisor, coordinator), former Notre Dame Academy choral director Teresa Schmidt (director) and Notre Dame Academy faculty member Andrea Hearden (choreographer). Next Stage would go on to present musicals over the next two summers and, after proving highly successful, was permanently added to St. Norbert College Music Theatre’s program offerings in the fall of 2017.

Next Stage brings together performers, musicians and crew members from high schools throughout the northeast Wisconsin region in a collaborative learning environment. Participants will experience hard work, commitment to the allied music-theatre disciplines and sustained excellence over the full course of a production. Since its beginning in 2015, more than 125 students from 21 high schools have participated in Next Stage productions.

Next Stage Mission
The mission of our Next Stage programming is to provide high school-aged students in Northeast Wisconsin with college-level training and practical experience in musical theatre production.

History of Productions
2021 - The SpongeBob Musical
2020 − No performances due to COVID-19
2019 − “Newsies”
2018 − "Jekyll & Hyde"
2017 − “School of Rock” (youth production)
2016 − “Miss Saigon” (school edition)
2015 −  “Crazy For You”