Cochrane High School’s drama group hit the stage with the musical Newsies, which started on Nov. 28 and will finish on Dec. 1 at the school’s theatre room.
Newsies is a musical based on the 1992 musical film Newsies, which in turn was inspired by the true story of a 1899 Newsboy Strike in New York City. The show has music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, and a book by Harvey Fierstein based on film's screenplay by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White. Other musicals have premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in 2011 while making its Broadway debut in 2012, where it played for more than 1,000 performances before touring. It is also a 2017 Netflix series starring Jeremy Jordan, Ben Fankhauser and Kara Lindsay.
“It’s a really exciting play and the kids had a hand in choosing this particular production. It was voted by demand and the kids were hyped about it with it being on Netflix and a popular musical overall,” said Cochrane High drama director Dustin Whetton.
“The kids have a different buzz about them with this performance. They’re coming in to rehearse an hour early, leaving an hour later so the buzz around this is huge and the kids are extremely excited to be presenting something that’s modern even though it’s from 1899. They’re super excited to be doing something from their lifetime and era.”
“What’s different about it is, typically we go with the classics. Oliver and Shakespeare, things like that and what’s different about this one in particular is that it’s something that everyone can connect to due to social media. Younger kids know about this play and so do adults … it’s not just for a single age group of people, but a play that everyone has had a chance to see or hear about. It’s very modern music.”
Whetton also said he has no doubt in his mind that the group has been ready to perform for the hundreds of people planning to attend the four shows.
“They absolutely are. Once the kids get those first-run jitters out of the way, the kids settle into their roles and know what they’re doing. After the final dress rehearsal, I couldn’t be more confident in the group we have,” Whetton said.
“We have a bunch of students that are so committed to what they do and are so willing to put in that extra effort to make sure whatever we put on stage is the best quality it can. The students don’t want to just be viewed as high school theatre, they want to be known as a place in Cochrane that people can come and enjoy the art of theatre. I really appreciate that and I have no doubt that they’ll be ready for whoever comes and watches.”
Tickets for the Saturday show are already sold out while other evenings have limited seating. Those interested can purchase tickets through the Cochrane High School website.
