The Connection

St. Bernadette’s Summer Theatre Program is staging the musical, Disney’s “Newsies,” for one weekend, July 26-28, 2018, at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria.

“It is a musical and it has a heavy dance component with lots of music and dance,” said Director Andrew Curtin of Annandale. “It tells the story of the newsboys’ strike of the 1890s in New York City. It’s based on historical events, but it’s not a recreation of them. Most closely, there was a movie (in 1992) by Disney with the same title. In 2012, they rewrote it and turned it into a musical on Broadway. It is the Disney script and all of the original stuff from their production.”

With a cast of 54 in rehearsals since May, Curtin said the biggest challenge was the enormity of the show. “It has a large set and intense dances. The vocals are very challenging. It’s a very high-level show and we have expected a lot for our actors and musicians - and they have delivered,” he said. “It is a big production with lots of moving parts. We’re building three tower-scaffolding units. So, making sure they would do everything and are safe for the students. Nothing our crew can’t handle but definitely a big project.”

THE SUMMER THEATRE PROGRAM is a ministry of St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in Springfield that was founded in 1997. Since then, they’ve done 22 productions – roughly one musical per year - and pull from students of different faith communities all over Northern Virginia.

“It is envisioned as a ministry as a chance for students from all over the area to form a community to make new friends. Most of the students in the program make friends that they will have for many years. It brings students from all over the area together. Some of the staff members on the program I’ve been friends with for decades now,” said Curtin.

Khyrin DeBose, 17, of Burke, plays the lead role of Jack Kelly. “Jack Kelly is the leader of the Manhattan Newsies. The newsies are the kids on the street who sell out the newspapers around New York City. Jack Kelly is the older brother/dad figure to the group of newsboys. He usually gives them advice on the best places to sell newspapers and he looks after them like his own family,” he said.

He said the antagonist in the show is Pulitzer, the owner of the World Newspaper who has decided to raise the price from 50 to 60 cents per paper. “Jack decides that this isn’t best for anybody and leads his newsboys on strike to lower the price of the newspapers. While he spearheads the strike, he learns what it takes to be a leader, what it takes to fight for what you believe in, and what it takes to look out for more than just yourself in this world.”

Eila Nash, 18, of Springfield is playing the role of Katherine Plummer. “Katherine is a very progressive character. She really wants women to have as much rights as men and that was very unique for the time the show was set in. She’s seen as sassy but I consider her to be wittier and she has a lot of intelligence. The key fact about her is she wants to be a reporter and it’s important for her to be a famous female reporter but as the show goes on, she wants to just make a difference in the world.”

Emily Graham, 18, of Falls Church is playing the male role of Elmer. “Elmer is a rough-and-tumble kid but he’s sweet at heart. He has a history of going to church but when he gets on the street and loses his family, he stops going to church and everything in life starts to become a joke to him. But he finds a niche with the Manhattan Newsies and starts to feel like he has a family again,” she said.

CHRISTIAN PARROTTE, 16, of Burke is playing the role of the Racetrack, who he describes as outgoing, bold, and outrageous. “He’s confident and he’s got a strong personality that really shines through in a lot of the scenes and he’s also pretty stubborn. He’s a sort of comic relief, a bit of helping the audience understand what’s going on the story. He’s also important in furthering the strike; he’s very influential with some of the other newsies.”