Tale about youth rebellion to be performed at end of October
Young men and women finding their voice. It’s a great story no matter what time you’re living in, whether it’s the late 19th century or the 21st.
Featuring an eager, young cast, the Broadway musical version of Disney’s “Newsies” will be performed by students from Cherry Hill High School West at the end of the month.
The musical is based on the cult-classic, 1992 feature musical film version directed and choreographed by Kenny Ortega and starring a young Christian Bale in the lead role of Jack Kelly. First premiered in 2011 before making its Broadway debut the following year, “Newsies” lands in a place with less fanfare but which carries an equal amount of dedication to the piece as their professional counterparts.
According to Jenna Hopkins, who will play the female lead, a reporter with the apt name of Katherine Plumber, “I think I’m trying to convey how it is in her time and that it’s kind of unheard of for a woman to be in that role she’s in. She’s trying to pave the way for others.”
“Newsies” is a fictionalization of the actual Newsboys’ Strike of July 1899 in New York City. It occurred when children employed as hawkers on street corners fought back against the restrictive practices newspaper magnates Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst used to keep their own profits high and keep the child labor force scrapping for every dime.
These young “newsies” bought papers at 50 cents per hundred, and sold them at a penny each for a profit of half a cent per paper. They were undercut when Pulitzer and Hearst decided to raise the price of their papers from 50 to 60 cents. The strike, which lasted for two weeks, was ultimately successful in raising the profits the young hawkers made from selling papers.
“I don’t think they’ve thought about the implications. They’ve done the research, but I don’t think about what’s going on (now),” said West theater teacher Carolyn Messias at an Oct. 10 rehearsal on whether her students involved in the production draw any parallels between the corporate climate of today with the period of the musical. “A lot of our kids can relate. They just know that these kids can stand up to authority.”
For a show of this magnitude, the preparations began in earnest long before the kids took to the stage to run through a series of scenes in rehearsal.
Auditions were held in June, when the actors weren’t thinking about what they’d be doing in the upcoming school year. The process of learning the music started as early as mid-July, when the leads had to be brought together as the pieces of the puzzle needed to start coming together. Featuring 300 pages of music, it was essential for the actors to have that solid foundation before learning the large amount of choreography.
Amid the hustle and bustle of the song and dance, finding your voice, and a way to approach a character, became an essential component of the process. Sometimes it took longer to realize that potential, which is why starting months ahead of show time can be essential to success.
“I didn’t audition for the lead, I auditioned for ensemble. I couldn’t see myself as Jack. But Mrs. Messias believed in me that I could take a bigger role. And when I started doing it, I noticed that I could do it, and that’s what attracted me to the role,” said Javion Saunders and his comfort level in assuming the Jack Kelly role. “What I bring is relatableness … Jack hits so close to home for me. When I’m on stage, it’s myself. I like that authenticity.”
Anthony DiFelice, who won the part of Davey, added, “I originally auditioned for Jack, but Davey was also a favorite of mine and it’s a role I’ve played in real life. As a youngest sibling, I never knew what it was like to have a younger sibling, so getting to portray that on stage is a unique experience.”
“Newsies” is scheduled for four performances at Cherry Hill West’s auditorium: Friday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. To purchase tickets or for more information about the show, visit showtix4u.com or call (856) 663–8006 ext. 1224.
