Caitlin Kinnunen, a 16-year-old from Island County, is off to New York, N.Y. to begin rehearsals for her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-Winning new musical “Spring Awakening.”

She’ll arrive in Manhattan next week with her mom and make the Big Apple her home for awhile as she takes on the role of Thea, joining the large ensemble of the long-running smash-hit show.

This may be the dream of every talented young girl, but Kinnunen has been training a long time to get to where she is today.

Having engaged in the study of theater since the age of 5, Kinnunen landed her first big role at 11 when she played the lead role in “Annie” on Village Theatre’s mainstage in Issaquah.

Kinnunen, a Camano Island resident, continued her experience on stage and went on to do more regional theatre including ensemble roles in “Wonderful Town” and “High School Musical,” as well as playing Mary in “A Secret Garden” and Amy in “Little Women.” She’s done a spectrum of things ranging from new works and original pieces to full-on mainstage works.

Her credits include performances on a bevy of area stages including Village Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre and The Fifth Avenue Theatre.

Having been called back for “Spring Awakening,” after auditioning at an open call for the show in Seattle, Kinnunen could not have asked for a more exciting way to spend her 16th birthday than by working with the show’s musical director Kim Grigsby.

The callback was her first trip to Broadway and so far, Kinnunen said, it has all been an amazing ride. The young actress said she is extremely excited, very grateful and a little bit scared.

“Spring Awakening” has won eight Tony Awards, including best musical of 2007. It celebrates the unforgettable journey from youth to adulthood and has been described as the groundbreaking fusion of morality, sexuality and rock-and-roll.