Helga Cast

Margaret Herbrich is a Senior who has appeared in several theater productions. You may have seen her in You Have the Right to Remain Dead, Love from a Stranger, and The Champ to name just a few. She has appeared in many musicals throughout her elementary and middle school years while attending Celebration Lutheran School. Her talents include accents, emotion, and the ability to memorize lines very quickly. Margaret enjoys volunteering, goofing off with friends, babysitting, and just spending time with young children. A native of Wisconsin, Margaret now lives in Appleton. She commutes to Green Bay each day for school and will attend Concordia University Wisconsin in the fall. Margaret would like to extend a special thanks to her parents for working with her crazy schedule, the directors for shaping her into who she is today, and Kate Sharp for being the best director's assistant and friend.

Grace Micke is excited to be back on stage at NEW. Some of her favorite performances have been in Father Knows Best and in Becoming Nun-ber One. She would like to thank her friends and family for their support.

Samantha Torres can’t wait to step on the NEW stage once again for the production of Helga. She has previously starred in Help! I’m Trapped in a Musical (Bette), The Alibis (Sam), Once Upon a Few Fairytales (Squirty the Dwarf), The Champ (Fan #6), Emma! A Pop Musical JV (Welcoming Committee), and Becoming Nun-ber One (Grace). Sam is currently a Junior at NEW Lutheran and has hopes of pursuing an acting career. She would like to thank her family, friends, and everyone in the drama department for their support and effort in making this all happen.

Quincy Wendland is a sophomore this year, and he is excited to participate in the Spring Drama, as he did not last year. He has participated in the past two winter dramas, as well as many musicals at Zion Wayside. Some of his favorite productions that he has been a part of are: State Fair, Fiddler on the Roof, The Wizard of Oz, and Bye Bye Birdie. He would like to thank his fellow actors, and the directors, because without them, this show would not have come to where it is at today. Most of all, He would like to thank God for the opportunity which He has given us to be here and to put on this production!

Lydia Nell has shown up in many NEWLHS productions so far, and is especially excited for this year’s production of Helga. Previously this school-year, she appeared as Emma in Emma! A Pop Musical and as Sister Theresa in NEW’s original play Becoming NUN-ber One. In previous years, she has preformed as a variety of characters, such as: the superhero #27 from Once Upon a Few Fairy Tales, Kristen from Help! I’m Trapped in a Musical, and many others. Her love for acting has expanded from a young age to now performing in both Drama and Forensics as a Junior. Lydia would like to give a special thank you to her family for always supporting her, and her friends and directors who have helped her not only grow as an actor, but as a person.

Sadie Czaja is thrilled to continue her exciting freshman year at NEWLHS. She has participated most recently in the Becoming Nun-ber One Drama production (Sister Mary SP) along with the Emma musical (Ashley). As a student at Trinity, she appeared on stage in three of their plays; Jonah’s Druthers (Sarah), The Born Again Identity (Grandma), and Happily Forever After (Brooke). Sadie has also appeared in three shows performed by Evergreen Theater Productions; The Princess King (Queen Bella), Bedtime Stories (Mayor), and The Enchanted Bookshop Musical (Book Fairy). She not only has a love for the arts, but is involved in three sports throughout the school year which are volleyball, basketball, and track. Sadie would like to give a shout out to her mom who started her in theater in 2022 and has supported her theater journey the whole way through, her best friend who has come to almost all of her performances and has helped her to refine her skills, and God who gave her the abilities to be able to act and do everything else that she loves!

Micah Gray is a sophomore who couldn’t wait for another N.E.W drama production to come out. In this year’s production he stars as Orlando, however, he has been seen before. He played Pat Ajax, Father James, and the excitable Stuart in N.E.W's own inhouse play Becoming Nun-ber One. He has also been in one other N.E.W spring drama production as Fan 7 in The Champ. In his very first N.E.W production Once Upon a Few Fairy Tales he was Shorty the Dwarf and the charismatic Prince Heimlich. Micah used to go to St. Paul Lutheran School in Luxemburg where he performed musicals for 8 years. Most notably he was Professor John Spiritus Baptismo in Life School Musical, and Giorgio the clown in The Prodigal Clown. Micah thanks his Mom and Dad for sacrificing their time and sanity going to his performances. He also thanks Mrs. Phanke for instilling in him his passion for acting, and Mrs. Gibbons, Mrs. Dunahoo, and Kate Sharp for putting up with him in practices.

Janyssa Johnson is a senior at NEW Lutheran High School. With a natural charisma and a deep passion for entertaining, Janyssa has brought to life a wide range of characters, from edgy teens to fun-loving nuns. When she's not on stage, Janyssa enjoys painting, playing softball, and spending time with her beloved cats, Rosmary and Phillis. With a bright future ahead of her, Janyssa continues to shine as a rising star, on the stage in entertainment, and off the stage with her friends and family. She would like to thank her directors, family, and friends for their support and dedication to getting her to this point. She is truly honored to have been a part of such an amazing program with such wonderful people.

Kenzee Burhite is a sophomore and is so excited to be taking the NEW drama stage in Helga. She has preformed in Becoming Nun-ber One as well as many other performances from her time at Green Bay Trinity Lutheran School. Kenzee has a love for drama and preforming. Kenzee would like to thank her mom and her grandparents who have been her biggest supporters, always working around her schedule and helping her achieve what she loves! She is so excited to participate in more performances in the future. As Alexander Hamilton said, “There’s a million things I haven’t done. Just you wait.”

Trinity Flynn is excited to take part in the captivating drama Helga, proudly presented by NEW Lutheran High School. Trinity's passion for theater has flourished since her debut in the school's musical productions of Help! I’m Trapped In A Musical and Emma JV, showcasing her commitment to the craft. Trinity would like to thank her family and friends for their constant support through her musical and drama journey.

Vika Lukanina is a freshman and very excited to be a part of the Helga production. She most recently performed in Becoming Nun-ber One (Sarah) and the musical Emma (Girl 1). Vika says, “I would like to thank my family for all of their support, as well as all the people who made this production possible for me by helping me with things like rides.”

Rachel Stock is excited for her grand debut performace at NEW Lutheran. She would like to thank her parents for always supporting her through everything and Lydia Nell for writing her cast bio.

Ella Natzke is super excited to finally be joining her first drama performance of all of high school as a Junior. She has performed in some musicals at her grade school, Green Bay Trinity. She finally decided she wanted to try something new in high school, and she’s always been interested in music, but never really drama. Ella helped with the first musical of her freshman year, Help! I’m Trapped in a Musical! with the backstage crew. She wants to thank her family and friends for supporting her and her directors for helping put this drama performance together.

Bella Konop is a sophomore who is excited to be a part of this year’s Spring Drama, Helga. She was also Customer #2 in N.E.W.’s Becoming Nun-ber One written by our own directors. She also participated in last year’s Spring Drama where she played Fan 4 in The Champ as well as in last year’s Winter Drama Snow White Lite where she played Snoozy the Dwarf. Not only has she participated in drama productions at N.E.W., she also participated in productions at her grade school (Green Bay Trinity Lutheran). In grade school, she played one of the cowgirl poets in Jonah’s Druthers. She also played Gadget in The Born Again Identity. She would like to thank all of her family for getting her to everything and always being there for her and dealing with her after she was cranky the day after a late night practice or performance. She would also like to thank the amazing directors, Mrs. Gibbons and Mrs. Dunahoo.

James Tilot is excited to be back on the stage his senior year. He first appeared in Help! I’m Trapped in a Musical! his sophomore year. James also performed in Emma and Becoming Nun-ber One his senior year. He would like to thank his family for supporting him throughout high school and his performing career.

Anna Carlson is excited to be returning to the stage for this Spring Drama! She has previously appeared in Happily Forever After (as Lady Windabag), Emma the Musical (as ensemble) this past fall, and Becoming Nunber One this past winter (as Sister Mary the third). She would like to give a shout out to her parents for putting up with all of the extra driving, and hauling lights, props, and kids around.

Eliana Goelzer has enjoyed theater for a long time. When she was younger, Zion Wayside would have the younger kids perform one song as a class and she always loved the feeling of being on stage. One of her favorites was State Fair when she was in 5th grade. She has also performed in multiple shows in Reedsville as well as the Winter Dramas her freshman and sophomore year at NEWLHS. Eliana hopes to perform in many more shows in the future and hopes you enjoy this one!

Selamnesh Kolb is currently a Junior at NEWLHS. In her younger years, she was in many Evergreen theatre productions. They performed in DePere, at St. Norbert’s College. Selamnesh was in Anne of Avonlea where she played a school girl, The Secret Garden where she played the bird, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. She was also in Miracles on 34th Street where she played a little girl. Her inspiration is her family and friends because they motivate her to be a better version of herself. Thank you family & friends!!