for
NEWSIES
Auditions for the 2021 spring musical NEWSIES will be held starting at 9:00 am on Saturday, December 4, 2021, in the VHS Gym. Please review all of the information below to familiarize yourself with the show and the audition suggestions!
Are you interested in being in the musical this year, but hesitant to audition? No worries!
This year, we are going to hold an open call for anyone who would like to be a part of the ensemble (aka be a newsie) but is not interested in pursuing a lead or featured role in the show! Please see Mr. Smith (band room) or click here to sign up for an ensemble slot. You will NOT need to audition on December 4th for this role – you will just need to come to the first meeting/rehearsal in January to claim your spot in the show!**PLEASE NOTE: If you sign-up for an ensemble-only role, you can NOT be considered for a speaking role, dance corps placement, or a replacement role in the show. If you would like to have more opportunities on our stage, you must audition!
Character Notes and Audition Suggestions*
*The suggested audition songs are just that, suggestions! You are free to sing any song you would like, but we would like to hear your voice in one of these numbers if you are auditioning for one of the above roles. Also, there are many more featured roles in our show! You can check out Newsies on MTI for more information.
About Newsies
The history of Newsies can be traced to long before the musical opened on Broadway. The 2012 stage musical is an adaptation of the 1992 movie, which itself traces its roots all the way back to 1899 when a group of newsies banded together to fight for their rights.
Newsies is based on the real-life Newsboys Strike of 1899. The New York newsies – boys and girls who sold newspapers on the street – went up against two newspaper publishers, Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World and William Randolph Hearst of the New York Journal, to fight for the chance to earn a livable wage.
The Spanish-American War made New Yorkers hungry for headlines, and circulation boomed as a result. Once the war ended, people were less inclined to buy newspapers – war was bad for the world, but great for the newspaper business. The strike was the result of the newspaper publishers refusing to lower the newsies’ cost-per-paper back down to the pre-war prices. The newsies were not willing to pay more for their papers to make up for a lack of headlines, so they decided to strike – their goal was to make the newspaper tycoons treat them as legitimate members of the business.
The strike lasted two weeks, from July 20 to August 2, 1899. The newsies eventually came to a compromise with the publishers: The price would stay the same, but the publishers would buy back any papers that the newsies couldn’t sell. The newsies’ strike is a significant moment in history: It is one of the first strikes that was carried out by children and it ended in compromise. The kids succeeded!
Additional Featured/Principle Roles in Newsies
Les Jacobs
Wiesel
Oscar Delancey
Morris Delancey
Snyder
Spot Conlon
Mister Jacobi
Theodore Roosevelt
Henry
Race
Elmer
Specs
Finch
Buttons
Albert
Mike
Mush
Romeo
Sniper