Newsies

Strike! The Newsies of Saint Anselm’s Abbey School are coming to the Devine Theater. Set in turn-of-the century New York City, "Newsies" is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a band of teenage "newsies." But the handsome, smooth, and cunning Joseph Pulitzer raises the prices of the papers by a 10th of a penny. Meaning the newsies would need to sell 10 more papers just to earn the same amount as always, Jack rallies the newsies from across the city to strike against the unfair conditions and fight for what's right!

Newsies boasts 82 talented actors, tech crew members, and staff, making it one of the most popular productions St. Anselm’s has ever produced. “We are so excited to present ‘Newsies’ to our school community and beyond. Our all-boys school allows guest performers from other schools to audition and join shows, so we are all so excited to have over 20 new families joining us for this monumental moment.” exclaims director, Ms. Shaw. She continues: “Everyone should purchase their tickets as soon as possible, as the  house only holds so many people, and I can’t imagine missing out on experiencing this culturally poignant moment for our community.”

Summer break is when we started learning about the show. Ms. Shaw knew this show was going to be the greatest in the history of the Abbey, but also that it was going to be the hardest. She created 4 “boot camps” to teach us dances and introduce us into the show. Everyone was welcome to attend. In order to audition, you must have gone to at least one bootcamp. We spent three hours learning the dances to the songs “Seize the day,” “King of New York,” “Carrying the Banner,” and the bows. Auditions were also very different from what I was used to. We had many judges, about seven or eight, who were given a rubric to score us. We split into smaller groups and performed our dances we learned at the bootcamps.

Soon, the show was having its actual rehearsals. The show started out calm but soon picked up. We learned we now had Saturday rehearsals, and expected to work for 13 hours a week. Because of all the practices, my schedule is booked full. College applications, tutors, my vocal coaches all needed to be moved. I always got home at around 6:30 and immediately went into tutoring. After that, I have homework until I go to sleep. I have very little free time to myself, but for theater it's worth it in my opinion. As the show is reaching the end, the rehearsals are getting harder and more difficult.

Singing is very important to a musical. For this one, it's no different. And oh boy, dancing and singing simultaneously sucks. For someone who has asthma, it’s almost impossible to do both, so I struggle. But I manage to do my best. The songs are very high; they’re constantly hitting high G’s and A’s. Dancing is also difficult, but from the recordings I’ve seen, it’s definitely worth it. It looks wonderful, and Ms. Shaw is an amazing choreographer.

Newsies is going to be a wonderful show, and it would be a massive mistake not to come and see the performance. All the performers excel in their songs, dancing, and acting. Most of us struggle, but we learn from our mistakes. So what I’m trying to say is, please come see Newsies, running November 22, 23 and 24.