With four nights of song, dance and cartwheel-galore, RM’s Black Maskers drew in crowds of hundreds–fellow students, teachers and parents alike–to witness the first show of the year: “Newsies.” They did not disappoint.
Even before curtains parted, the overture of “Newsies” was a feast for the ears in the pitch-dark auditorium. A spirited blend of pop and rock, it would set the inspirational tone for the rest of the show. After all, there is little more stirring than a clash of “ragamuffins” and “kingmakers,” newsboys (“newsies”) and big news corporations.
Plot-wise, “Newsies” seems to escape the realm of clichés despite its Disney roots. “One of the parts that I love about ‘Newsies’ is [how] people fluctuate from really wanting to be a part of the strike to having some doubts about it,” actor and junior Aaron Swibel said. From the very beginning, the audience witnesses how rallying the newsboys is anything but easy, as Jack Kelly (Cory Breychak) and his friend Davey Jacobs (Aaron Swibel) argue over the logistics of striking–on paper, they are but a bunch of angry, penniless kids. These challenges persist throughout the show, adding a dimension of realism to the newsboy struggle against the capitalist pressures of Joseph Pulitzer (Ethan Chou), because they are not only fighting to rally the audience, but each other against their own doubts. “I’d say my favorite part about ‘Newsies’ would probably be…‘King of New York’,” junior and actor Allison Trelvik said. “It’s a moment in the show where we’re all supposed to be very hype after…we feel defeated and then we get excited again.”
Still, however captivating the script, it was the Black Maskers’ remarkable execution that brought the story to life.
While the newsies battled Pulitzer, the Black Maskers crew was overcoming technical challenges. “The show itself is a lot more action-packed,” actor, music captain and junior Ambha Chandran said. “There’s barely any blackouts and then there’s times where actors are just speeding across the wings or like just various parts of backstage because of the amount of like, the amount of quick changes they need to do and other things and again, it’s just a really fast-paced environment.” The show’s second night was especially tense because “there was an emergency…and the whole lighting board broke [but] someone in lighting decided, okay, let’s use a spotlight,” Swibel said. “We have these amazing, talented people on the up who are a part of tech that can make these good instincts and make the show seamless, so that even if something goes wrong, the audience won’t be able to tell.”
The one quirk that seemed to be amiss was only noticed by the most experienced “Newsies” watchers. “There was one thing I didn’t like,” English teacher and two-time “Newsies” watcher Stephanie Halloran said. “Brooklyn’s Here” ends with this sound, [loud blowing raspberry noise]. It did not end with that sound in this performance. And I don’t know if that was for all four [performances] or they just forgot to do it, but when they sing at the end and so’s the Bronx, they’re supposed to do a Bronx cheer.”
Otherwise, it was seamless. On stage, the musical continued to rouse audience members through coordinated swarms of suspenders, plaid and stripes. “There’s a lot of scenes where they had, like, a huge number of people on the stage at the same time, like doing the choreographed dancing, which I thought was impressive,” IB Math teacher Matt Davis said. “Especially there was one scene where there were a couple of the people tap dancing in the middle of it…that’s the part that I remember the most.”
Backed by the pit orchestra’s beats, voices of cast members like Katherine Plumber (Mia Whittaker) had the opportunity to shine. “I thought the strength of the voices was really high and consistent across the whole cast, which is great for this kind of a show,” Halloran said. “I went to see the show with my child, who also went to see the show with me on stage two times and we agreed Mia’s version of [‘Watch What Happens’] was the best of the three. And that includes seeing it on Broadway.”
Strategically coupled with some leaps and a “worm” dance move, “Newsies” song and dance had audience members bobbing their heads along to the newsboy beat. “My kids are always wanting to sing the songs and play the songs on Spotify now and stuff like that. So I think the music and the dancing together, it’s like, the most memorable part,” Mr. Davis said.
