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02/21/2023 02:38 PMFollowing previous productions of Phantom of the Opera and last year’s staging of Mamma Mia!, Jacqyln Giordano said there was initial uncertainty as to what the next production should be. She then realized what had not been presented to North Haven audiences before.
“Tap dancing was one of the things I feel like I hadn’t had the pleasure of putting on stage yet, and my choreographer, Jared Andrew Brown…we kind of put our heads together, and we’re like, ‘Well, let’s do it,’” she said.
The decision to include tap in the next production led to the choice of Newsies as North Haven High School’s (NHHS) winter musical production. Set in New York City in 1899, the show tells the story of its eponymous young scrappy newspaper sellers, led by the charismatic Jack Kelly, who band together to fight unfair treatment by publishing tycoon Joseph Pulitzer.
“Eventually, it gets bigger than just the newsies, and it’s for all the working children in the city…coming together and showing the power children have,” said Giordano.
As the director, Giordano saw the cast and crew respond positively to the show’s inclusion of more technical choreography through percussive tap dancing, but also its themes of unity and empowered youth.
“One of the big things we’re trying to get across as our message and as a cast…just because you’re a kid, doesn’t mean you are powerless. Knowing that your voice is still heard as a child.”
Discussed by the cast and crew before rehearsals began, those themes, including that of unity, have translated across the production’s cast and crew. Chloe Diaz, who plays the character of Crutchie, can attest.
“It’s a very ensemble-based sort of thing, where the whole theme is about unity and striking as one,” said Diaz. “And I think that’s something that a lot of musicals lack, in that it’s very separate from leads and ensembles. What I really like about this is I feel like we’re all much more of a community than we have been before.”
Viviana Rodriguez, who portrays the effervescent Medda Larkson, says her character offers a contrasting “comedic relief” to the “more monochromatic” elements of the show. But she recognizes the seriousness of its themes to be expressed on stage. Like her character, Rodriguez sees it necessary to “bring all the energy” on stage with each rehearsal.
“There’s a whole lot of passion in the show, and it’s all about grit and determination,” she said. “Keeping this union and this energy of ‘group and togetherness;’ [Medda’s] kind of like, ‘Come here, I’ll take care of you.’ I have to keep that consistent, and I love being able to do that.”
According to stage manager Angela Nappe, that sense of camaraderie and determination extends to the crew members.
“Backstage, we have our own little moments. We sort of act out the show while we’re backstage, and we’ll sing along to a song and try to do choreo[graphy] on our own,” she said. “We just make our own fun out of it.”
Making their “own fun out of it” strengthens the relationships between veteran and new freshmen members of the crew. Through shared work and appreciation for crafting a well-flowing show on their end, the crew has formed “bonds that I’m sure they won’t forget.”
The music of Newsies is a sharp contrast to NHHS’ production of Mamma Mia! last year. The original Disney soundtrack, composed by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman, is a narrative-driven score and serves as a parallel to the action on stage. It engenders strong emotions leading to protest and unionization by the titular characters, according to Sarah Iadarola.
“There’s more of a message that anchors Newsies,” said Iadarola, the show’s vocal director and keyboardist in the pit led by NHHS band teacher Susan Oakley. “The ‘jukebox musical’ of Mamma Mia! — they’re all great tunes, but they don’t necessarily get tied together as much as a lot of Disney shows. So there’s a little bit more to latch onto in at least the meaning of the show.”
Show lead Frank DecrescenZo certainly resonates with the musically-enriched message, whose favorite number in the production is the rallying anthem, “The World Will Know.”
“Every time I’m singing ‘The World Will Know,’ even Mrs. I[adarola] has to tell me every single time to not be yelling my lines to waste my voice because all the adrenaline rushes to me, and you get so into it,” he said. “Everybody has that one song that every time they listen to it, you get pumped up!”
DecrescenZo, who plays the zestful protagonist Jack Kelly, takes after his participation in the Boys Scouts as inspiration for demonstrating the leadership of united and empowered children through his character. Sharing the same age as Jack, he underscores his performance as a teenager striving to bring justice to his fellow newsies against the remarkably powerful odds.
“He says in one of his lines, ‘Even at 17,’ said DecrescenZo. “So it’s kind of weird and almost not the easiest to think about that this character that’s going through all this is the same age as I am now, but it also helps me embody it a bit more with everything that happens onstage.”
According to Rodriguez, the “grit and determination” of the newsies is a feeling the whole ensemble shares, and it motivates them to do it better each time. The final result will be something inspiring for the audience.
“This year, having that energy onstage, it translates offstage,” said Rodriguez. “And that strengthens everything that you see that’s going to be on stage.”
NHHS presents Newsies on Thursday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m.; Friday, March 3 and Saturday, March 4 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, March 5 at 2 p.m. at North Haven High School, 221 Elm Street. Tickets are $15 and are available at the box office 45 minutes prior to showtime or online at https://www.vancoevents.com/us/events/landing/29064?qs=03686d1a-a94b-4c99-9b4b-2fa0b3b8934b