Byron Center — Byron Center High School thespians said rehearsing for the Disney musical “Newsies” at Van Singel Fine Arts Center has taught them discipline and empowered them to speak out against injustice.
One of the show’s “newsies,” or newsboys, senior Kaylee McKendry, said the show taught her “a lot about perseverance.”
“The dancing and the choreography taught me to keep practicing,” she said. “These young boys taught me to fight for what I believe in. Even when they got beaten and broken and bruised, they got back up and kept fighting.”
There are still two more dates to visit the Van Singel Fine Arts Center to see the show: at 7 p.m. Friday, March 6 and at 2 p.m Sunday, March 8. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office.
Adapted from the big screen to Broadway stage, “Newsies” was inspired by the newsboy strikes across New York City and surrounding areas during the summer of 1899.
When two newspaper owners, Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, raised distribution prices of their respective papers, the New York World and the Evening Journal, the young newsboys went on strike.
“They weren’t just taking a stand for themselves,” Kaylee said. “It started with them, but they were fighting for future generations of kids and their families.”
Added another newsie, sophomore Lily Holland: “It wasn’t just newsies; kids were working and dying in factories and on farms. Parents were sending their kids to work, and that reality is crazy to think about.”
Kaylee said playing a role in the show made her want to learn more about social issues of today’s world and “speak out more.”
“These kids were being oppressed by large companies, and in this day and age there is still this oppression for our friends and family members,” she said. “Better understanding their experiences helps you have empathy and want to help.”
‘Kids need to know about history and how it impacts today.’
— Junior Judson Phillips, newsboy Finch
Learning From History
Junior Judson Phillips, who plays the newsboy Finch, said he hopes the audience watching the show learns more about their country’s history.
“Kids need to know about history and how it impacts today,” he said. “This show has taught me that it doesn’t matter how young you are, you can make a difference.”
Judson and his fellow cast members discussed the “culture shock” of portraying young boys who live on the streets and sell newspapers to survive, then leaving rehearsal to go home, eat dinner and do homework.
“We have it easy,” Judson said. “Back then, kids our age had to fight for everything and the stress of meeting basic human needs. It makes you want to complain a lot less about how you have it.”
He added: “I never want people to live a fraction of what these boys had to live through. I feel empowered to make change and speak out against poor living conditions.”
Senior Audrey Wolfe said newsboys were worried about surviving, “while I’m worried about my homework and practicing my music. They worried about food and money, not about the future because they were so focused on the present.”
Lily said she appreciated the parallel of the show’s time period and learning about the turn of the century in her AP U.S. History class.
“I like history, so being in this show has been educational, especially what these boys went through, how hard they had it and how good I actually have it,” she said. “They were not stressing about AP U.S. History.”
Junior Davis Le plays the ‘Newsies’ lead role, Jack Kelly, the rebellious leader of the newsboy strike. He said he watched the show about 95 times, in addition to attending theater club dance lessons since September.
“My character didn’t have time to go to school or focus on his own intelligence. He’s been working for years and gotten really good at it,” he said. “Jack cares for everyone but himself; I’m allowed to care for myself, focus and prioritize myself in education and life.”
Read more from Byron Center:
• Student entrepreneurs: making money doing what they love
• Community theater serves as a summer teacher
