MARSHALL, Mich. — The Franke Center’s Youth Theatre and Marshall High School have announced that they will be partnering for a production of Disney’s Newsies. The musical will be performed February 16-19.
The February 16-18 performances will be held at 7 p.m. The performance on Sunday, November 19 will be held at 2:30 p.m. It will be performed from actors in grades 5-12.
Newsies is set in New York City at the turn-of-the-century. The musical follows newsboy Jack Kelly, who is the leader of a group of teenaged “newsies.” After the titans of publishing raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack leads the newsies from throughout the city to go on strike against the unfair conditions.
The production from The Franke Center’s Youth Theater and Marshall High School will be directed by Jennifer Conley Darling. Stacy Root will be the musical director and Tricia Taylor will be the choreographer. Jeremy Root will be the assistant music director.
“We are excited to be expanding the age groups this year for such an epic production,” said Darling. “And to be working in the beautiful auditorium at the high school while continuing to raise the bar with such a talented production team.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering on Newsies,” said Root. “With both organizations having a great history of large-scale productions, we know this collaboration will provide a great opportunity for all involved.”
Newsies features music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, and a book by Harvey Fierstein. The original Broadway production opened in 2012. The musical went on to be nominated for eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It later won a Tony for Best Choreography and for Best Original Score.
A filmed version of the play had a limited theatrical release in 2017. It starred Jeremy Jordan as Jack Kelly, Kara Lindsay as Katherine Plumber, and Ben Fankhauser as Davey Jacobs, reprising their roles from the Broadway production. The filmed version is currently available to stream on Disney+.
The play is based on the film Newsies, which was released by Disney in 1992. The film was directed by Kenny Ortega, and starred Christian Bale as Jack Kelly, Bill Pullman as Bryan Denton, and Ann-Margret as Messa Larkson. Menken and Feldman also worked on the 1992 film.
The production of Newsies by The Franke Center’s Youth Theatre and Marshall High School will be performed February 16-19. Auditions from 5th-12th grade students will be held December 6-8 at Marshall High School’s auditorium. All 5th-12th grade students are eligible to audition, regardless of where they study. For more information on auditions, contact Allison Ebner at 269-274-5795 or theebners@aol.com.
