Newsies has been a bucket list show of mine to direct, and I am so excited that I can do so to close out my third year as an adjunct professor and guest director here at Huntington University. This show is full of songs that are not only catchy, but full of meaningful lyrics and complex music.
In working with my choreographer and music director, one thing I didn’t want to do is mimic the Broadway version so much that it was just a carbon copy of their production. It’s hard to do this with a show that is beloved by many and so well known. So, of course, there are some moments that will seem familiar, but we tried to keep our own storytelling in as many ways as possible. You will notice that in the way we staged and choreographed certain dance numbers, the character work that I allowed my actors to play around with, and the relationship that I tried to develop between Jack and Katherine. I think we came up with a nice balance of what everyone expects with this show but also with our own personality put into it.
One thing I love about this show is the message about a group of young kids who were able to change working conditions for the young people working in deplorable working conditions, just to feed themselves. A group of kids decided they’d had enough and raised their voices to make changes happen. I think of 1 Timothy 4:12 -- “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young but be an example to the believers in your speech, your conduct, your love, your faith, and your purity.” Just because people are young, does not mean they don’t have an impact on the world around them. To me this is what Newsies is about, making the most of every opportunity to impact those around us and change our world. Our world, now more than ever, needs our young people to speak up and make a difference.
I hope you enjoy the show. But I also hope you think about what it took for these kids to stop working, the sacrifices they really had to make to get the attention of the rich men who held the purse strings of their lives, and the risk they had to take to make it come to pass. I hope it inspires you, that when you see injustice around you, you will have the courage to speak into it. That you will be willing to take a risk to make it right.
Mary Beth Frank
Director
