Newsies is a broadway musical with a Tony Award for Best original Score, a Tony Award for Best Choreography and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music. This broadway show follows the story of Jack Kelly, David Jacobs and the paperboys as they form a union against Pulitzer and his rise of paper prices. With the help of Katherine Plumber (her alias), the newsboys go on strike and are printed on the front page of a newspaper. Pulitzer creates a ban on strike news and finds out Katherine, who is his own daughter, is on the side of the newsboys. Theodore Roosevelt also makes a cameo where makes Pulitzer reset the price back to its original and all is well for the Newsies and the newspaper price.

The musical, based on the 1992 film, is the subject of this year’s spring musical. Planning has included a Google Classroom with over 100 people joined. A choreography workshop has been placed to occur on December 7, this workshop will present and teach the choreography required for the audition. The choreography will also be placed in classroom for individuals not able to make it to the workshop. A sign-up sheet has been uploaded into the classroom as well. To sign up for an audition, one needs a partner. Partners are required to audition and anyone who’s signed up solo will need to find an audition partner before auditions occur.

On the set side of the show, a company has agreed to build the fire escapes that are used in the broadway show. Even though this set piece doesn’t have the same dynamics and intricacy as the one in the original broadway show, it will still be an interesting and perfect set piece. Another part of the set that mimics the musical on broadway are the projections. In the original show, a projector is used to show Jack Kelly’s drawing of Katherine, the newspaper headlines and other backdrops for the setting. Other intricate pieces within the broadway musical include Jack Kelly’s paintings, the paper carts, and Pulitzer’s basement with an old printing press. The pieces that aren’t as intricate but are needed to set the scene are Katherine’s typewriter, tables and chair for Jacobi’s Deli and of course, the newspapers the Newsies sell.

The award winning musical score is full of songs that aren’t just fun to sing to, but to dance with as well. With Jack Kelly’s “Santa Fe” and “I Never Planned On You” along with Race and the newsboys “King of New York” with tap solos, the musical is complete. The songs go from energetic to soft and calm in many places in the musical. The real tear jerker is when Crutchie, who is now in the refuge, writes a letter to Jack and sings “Letter From the Refuge”. The refuge is a vermin infested “safe house” for juveniles, runaways and boys without a home, so the audience understands why this part is emotional for both Crutchie and Jack himself.

This will be an exciting rendition of a broadway show on the Conway High stage. Last year’s Good News was exciting enough, but this year is a famous broadway musical. One can understand why this musical is such an obsession among students already. Hopefully the set pieces and musical score, along with the actors, comes together perfectly this year. The excitement is almost too much over this show with auditions coming up soon. There’s a lot to be expected from this show and a lot to be intrigued and excited over.