Newsies stop the World

"The kids really responded to working hard with glee," said Givler. "It makes me feel like we're through COVID."

Photos by Yearbook advisor Oliver McCurnin

     David Douglas High School's Newsies newsboys are now on the front page and above the fold on both The Sun and The Highlander. The musical was performed to full houses from Nov. 10-12 and Nov. 17-19 at the Howard Horner Performing Arts Center.

The 1992 musical Newsies is a portrayal of the 1899 Long Island City newsboys strike fueled by the newsboys' rage against the sudden price increase on newspapers. The youth-driven union operated strikes against the New York World publisher Joseph Pulitzer and the New York Journal owner William Randolph Hearst. To make a profit, "newsies" would have to sell all the papers they buy and the price raise significantly affected their ability to make a living wage. They responded by banding with newsboys in all five boroughs and collectively refusing to sell any copies of the Journal and World, the biggest newspaper circulations in America. The newsies were met by a compromise from the two corporations: 100 papers would remain 60 cents, but the companies would buy back unsold copies. 

17 year old orphan Jack Kelly (played by senior Erick Leiva) is a homeless newsboy who joined forces with two rookie brothers David "Davey" (senior Erick Allen) and Les Jacobs (freshman Bailey Deale). With Davey's brains, Les' youthful and marketable charm, and Jack's charisma, together they sell papers to financially support themselves. While the brothers have family to take care of, Jack dreams of escaping New York City's crowded streets and lousy headlines by going West, specifically Santa Fe, New Mexico. After finding out about the price of papers increasing for the newsies, the trio and other Manhattan newsies go on strike. The Sun reporter Katherine Plumber (sophomore Dotti Hayden) writes a story about the strike and publishes the boys on the front cover. This infuriates Pulitzer (senior Richard Guinan), and Jack and his pal Crutchie (senior Layne Winningham) end up in a juvenile detention center called the Refuge. But with strength in numbers, the newsies and Pultizer find "a compromise we can all live with." Newsies sends a message to the youth, reminding them that they have the ability to change what they believe is wrong, too.

Both pit director Jennifer Brooks and theater teacher and director Michael Givler's wife suggested Newsies as this year's musical. Givler decided that the current company was ready for a show like Newsies with lots of dancing and singing incorporated. About 65 students auditioned and 43 ended up in the cast. The cast also included teachers: Andrew Matheny as Seitz, Misty V'Marie as the mayor of New York, and Toussaint Perrault as Buntz. The musical required soloists, but students were needed in the choruses for every scene. The teachers filled the solo positions and acted as well. 

"It's a lift," said Givler. "I thought we were ready for a big challenge. I knew this show would be a big push and I thought that the kids were ready for that. We also had the cast for it."

Newsies' dance team was made up of senior dance captains Anastacia Paunovic and Kyra Blair, assistant choreographer and alumni Arianna Gsell, and choreographer Chelsea Michel (who orchestrated the big dance numbers in King Of New York and Seize The Day). The dance captains had the opportunity to be leaders by teaching steps and cleaning up sections to appear more consistent. Eric Makhanov was the vocal director, Neil Koch was the costume designer, and the technical director was Chanell Magee. Becky Chilson was the professional accompanist who collaborated with the pit orchestra consisting of 41 DDHS musicians under the direction of Brooks. Senior assistant director and cast member Kaitlyn Borresen worked with the teachers in their specific scenes. 

"A cool part about this show was the amount of student leadership that we've had," said Givler. "Alumni, dance captains, and Kaitlyn. Musical theater is a collaborator's art form."

In almost every scene of Newsies, every newsboy is on stage. There were very few scenes that only showcased a few people, which meant Givler had to focus on lots of people moving at the same time for most of the show. However, the students' gumption for the musical made it run more smoothly. 

"The kids really responded to working hard with glee," said Givler. "It makes me feel like we're through COVID."

Music students from all three middle schools had the chance to watch DDHS' Newsies production on Nov. 9. After the show, David Moscow, who played Davey in the original 1992 film, came to the Performing Arts Center and surprised the students. A student's parent was featured in Moscow's TV series From Scratch and mentioned in passing that their child was performing Newsies at DDHS, and Moscow wanted to meet the cast while he was in town. He was able to watch part of a rehearsal. 

"He's like the real deal," said Givler.