Accolade Community Theatre Audition Notice
Disney Newsies the Broadway Musical
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Music by Alan Menkin
Lyrics by Jack Feldman
Directed by Desi Brown & Beau DeBard
Vocal direction by Kelly Arroyo
It's time to carry the banner on your stage with Disney's Newsies! Set in turn-of-the century New York City, Newsies is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a band of teenaged "newsies." When titans of publishing raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack rallies newsies from across the city to strike against the unfair conditions and fight for what's right!
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Jack Kelly: The charismatic leader of the Manhattan newsies, is an orphaned dreamer and artist who yearns to get out of the crowded streets of New York and make a better life for himself out West. Fiercely protective of his best friend, Crutchie, and strongly loyal, Jack isn’t afraid to use his voice to attain better conditions for the working kids of New York City. Though living on the streets has given him a tough-guy exterior, Jack has a big heart and can demonstrate a sweet vulnerability – especially when it comes to bantering with a certain female reporter. Must have a great pop tenor voice and sense of physicality.
Crutchie: A dedicated newsie with a bum leg that’s painful, but helps sell more papes. Though he walks with the assistance of a crutch, Crutchie doesn’t let it define him; when in a jam, Jack Kelly’s best friend relies on a goofy- sweet sense of humor and optimistic resilience. Crutchie is the heart of the resistance. Though his movement will suggest his bum leg, Crutchie should still be included in the dance numbers.
Davey: Les’s straight-laced, bright big brother starts selling newspapers to help his family earn a living, but becomes swept up in the fervor of the strike. A leader in his own right who is learning to use his voice to uplift others, Davey is the brains of the resistance.
Les: Davey’s cheeky younger brother, is inspired by the freedom of the newsies and loves their independent lifestyle. A precocious and natural newsie, Les is an intuitive salesboy and a pint-sized charmer. He should present as younger than the other newsies. Les to be played by a student 9 to 13. Students 9 to 12 should send in a video audition and students age 13 should audition in person.
Spot Conlon: The proud leader of the Brooklyn newsies, boasts an intimidating reputation and a short singing solo in “Brooklyn’s Here.”
Newsies: Including Albert, Buttons, Elmer, Finch, Henry, Ike, Jo Jo, Mike, Mush, Race, Romeo, Specs, Splasher, and Tommy Boy, are some of the hard-working kids of New York City that go on strike for a livable wage.
Scabs: Three newsies who are hesitant to join the strike.
Darcy: The upper-class kid of a publisher who sides with the newsies. Can double as a newsie.
Bill: The son of William Randolph Hearst who joins the newsies' cause. Can double as a newsie.
Katherine Plumber: An ambitious young reporter, works hard to make a name for herself as a legitimate journalist in a time when women aren’t taken seriously. Quick, funny, and resourcesful, she boldy captures the voice of a new generation rising in her coverage of the newsies’ strike. While she generally has no time for cocky, streetwise young men, she makes an exception for Jack Kelly. Though she only has a brief dance solo in “King of New York,” Katherine should have a great contemporary pop voice with a high belt – diction is key.
Joseph Pulitzer: A pompous businessman through and through, owns the World and is concerned solely with the bottom line. Katherine’s no-nonsense father, Pulitzer doesn’t sympathize with the strikers, but he does eventually – and grudgingly – respect Jack.
Seitz: Editor, advises Pulitzer, but ultimately admires the kids’ newspaper.
Bunsen: Pulitzer’s bookkeeper, comes up with the ideas to raise the newsies’ price per paper.
Hannah: Pulitzer’s practical and insightful secretary.
Nunzio: Pulitzer’s barber.
Wiesel: Or “Weasel,” runs the distribution window for the World and knows most of the newsies by name. Assisted by the intimidating Delancey brothers, who keep order by any means necessary, Wiesel is Pulitzer’s disgruntled paper- pusher.
Oscar and Morris Delancey: Tough brothers who work at the distribution window for the World, take the side of the publishers in the strike and are known to use their fists to make a point.
Goons: Assist the Delanceys in roughing up the newsies at the end of Act One.
Snyder: The crooked and sinister warden of The Refuge, a filthy and horrible orphanage, is concerned only with catching enough kids to keep his government checks coming.
Medda Larkin: Inspired by vaudeville performer Aida Overton Walker, this big-voiced saloon singer and star of the Bowery offers her theater as a safe haven for the newsies. An astute entertainer with great comic delivery, she’s a good friend to Jack and stands firmly behind the newsies in their fight for justice.
The Bowery Beauties: Female performers at Medda’s Theater.
Nuns: The three nuns offer breakfast to the hungry newsies. Feel free to cast additional nuns.
Mr. Jacobi: Allows the newsies to congregate in his restaurant to plan their strike – when he doesn’t have any paying customers, that is.
Mayor: The Mayor of New York City rebuffs Pulitzer’s attempts to shut down the newsies’ strike.
Governor Teddy Roosevelt: A well-respected lifelong public servant, inspires Jack to stand up to Pulitzer.
AUDITION DATES & LOCATION:
Vocal and acting auditions will be held Wednesday, May 18th at First Presbyterian Church of Richardson. (271 N Walton Street) Please visit our website to sign up for an audition slot.
An additional dance audition will be held on Tuesday, May 19th , also at First Presbyterian Church of Richardson. Please wear appropriate apparel for dancing.
Please reserve Saturday, May 23rd from 10:00 AM–4:00 PM for callbacks, should you be invited.
AUDITION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CAST:
Each student should prepare one of the monologues below. In addition, students should prepare a 60 second cut of a song from a musical. If auditioning for a lead role, please pick a song that best showcases your range as a singer, preferably in the style of the show or similar to the desired character.
AUDITIONS REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ROLE OF LES:
Students aged 9 to 12 are able to send in a video audition for the role of Les. They should be available for callbacks on Saturday, May 23rd should they be called back. Please sign up on the audition form and send in a video audition no later than May 17th. Video auditions should include a video of the Les monologue and a one minute cut of a Newsies song of their choice. Students older than 12 auditioning for the role of Les should sign up for an audition slot and come to in person auditions.
AUDITION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ROLE OF CREW OR TECH:
Students auditioning for crew or tech should send in a video describing their crew experience, what role they are interested in and why they want to be a part of the show. Please sign up on the audition form and send in a video audition no later than May 17th.
REHEARSALS:
Rehearsals will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Richardson from 5pm to 10pm. Below is a list of rehearsal dates. Please go over all the scheduled rehearsals and mark the dates in your calendar and come to auditions with all of your conflicts. We know conflicts during the summer will happen but we need to know what they are prior to casting. We will not be accepting additional conflicts after auditions. While we know extenuating circumstances can occur, theater requires dedication and schedules are set based on when actors are available. Rehearsals begin Tuesday, June 2nd.
Rehearsals - 6/02, 6/04, 6/06, 6/15, 6/17, 6/18, 6/20, 6/22, 6/23, 6/24, 6/29, 6/30, 7/01, 7/03, 7/06, 7/08, 7/10, 7/11, 7/13, 7/15, 7/17, 7/18, 7/20, 7/21, 7/22, 7/27, 7/29, 7/31, 8/01
PERFORMANCE LOCATION
All performances will be held at the Mainstage Theater at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre.
TECH / DRESS WEEK:
Please mark tech rehearsal dates in your calendar as they are mandatory and crucial to the performance. ALL tech rehearsals are mandatory. Tech rehearsals will be held at the performance venue. Tech times will be set as we get closer to the show.
TECH REHEARSAL DATES:
Sunday, August 2nd
Monday, August 3rd
Tuesday, August 4th
Wednesday, August 5th
Thursday, August 6th
PERFORMANCE DATES:
Friday, August 7th at 7:30pm
Saturday, August 8th at 2:30pm & 7:30pm
Sunday, August 9th at 2:30pm
TUITION: $50
Our heart is to provide affordable theatre for students so we strive to keep our cost minimal. For families with more than two students, the first two students are $50 and each additional student after that is $25. If your student needs a scholarship or you would be willing to offer a scholarship for another student please let us know. Payment is due at the first rehearsal.
ADDITIONAL COSTS:
Additional costs associated with the show are the cost of shoes and a costume fee of $25. Tickets must be purchased anytime you are seated in the auditorium to watch the show. Ticket prices are $15 per show. There will also be an opportunity for participants to purchase show t-shirts, accolade ads in the program, concessions, etc.
PARENT VOLUNTEER INVOLVEMENT
Accolade Community Theatre is a volunteer run organization. We rely on parent involvement to help keep kids safe and ensure that our rehearsals and performances run smoothly. You will be asked to volunteer at rehearsals, take volunteer shifts during tech week and performances, as well as help with set build and strike. In total, volunteer time may add up to around 30 hours over the course of the show. We understand that there are different seasons of life and that there may be special circumstances. We are certainly willing to work with you! But please be aware that participating in a play with Accolade does involve a family time commitment.
MONOLOGUES
JOSEPH PULITZER:
Gentlemen, the World is in trouble. Our circulation is down for the third quarter in a row. Right now we charge the newsies fifty cents for a hundred papers. But if we raised their price to sixty cents per hundred…every single newsie would have to sell 25 more papers just to earn the same amount as always. It’s genius. And to those who think it may be rough on those children, I say NONSENSE.
JOSEPH PULITZER:
(Pulitzer is used to getting what he wants, and frustrated with Jack for causing a disruption.)
Mark my words, boy. Defy me, and I will have you and every one of your friends locked up in The Refuge. I know you're Mr. Tough Guy, but it's not right to condemn that little crippled boy to conditions like that. And what about your pal Davey and his baby brother, ripped from their loving family and tossed to the rats? Will they ever be able to thank you enough?
JACK KELLY:
(Jack is speaking to the ‘scabs’
—other newsboys who have been paid extra by the newspaper to cross the strike lines and keep working.)
It ain't just about us. All across this city there are boys and girls who ought to be out playin' or going to school. Instead they're slavin' to support themselves and their folks. Ain't no crime to bein' poor, and not a one of us complains if the work we do is hard. All we ask is a square deal. Fellas ... for the sake of all the kids in every sweatshop, factory, and slaughter house in this town, I beg you ... throw down your papers and join the strike.
JACK KELLY:
(Jack is talking to Davy, Les, and Medda. He is frustrated, inujured, exhausted, and feeling extremely guilty about his friends’ injuries)
Want to see a place I seen? How about this? Newsie Square, thanks to my big mouth, filled to overflowing with failure. Kids hurt, others arrested - Is that what you're aiming for? Go on and call me a quitter, call me a coward. No way I'm puttin' them kids back in danger.
KATHERINE PLUMBER:
(Katherine is responding to Jack’s attempt to give up. He claims that nothing they can do will make a difference and her ideas won’t help.)
Really, Jack? Really? This would be a good time to shut up. The strike was your idea. The rally was Davey's. And now my plan will take us to the finish line. Think, Jack, if we publish this - my words with one of your drawings - and if every worker under twenty-one read it and stayed home from work ... or better yet, came to Newsie Square - a general city-wide strike! Even my father couldn't ignore that.
MEDDA LARKIN:
(Medda feels very motherly and protective towards Jack, who is about 10 years younger than she is.)
Here's everything I owe you for the first backdrop, plus this one, and even a little something extra just account'a because I'm gonna miss you so. Just tell me that you're going somewhere and not running away. When you go somewhere and it turns out not to be the right place, you can always go somewhere else. But if you're running away, nowhere's ever the right place.
ROOSEVELT:
My fellow citizens…today you have demonstrated the power of standing together for what is right. I believe the future, in your hands, will be bright and prosperous. And your drawings, Jack, have brought another matter to bear. Come on out, Casey. Your pals are waiting!
CRUTCHIE:
(Crutchie is talking to Jack, one of the few newsies he trusts to treat him as an equal despite his disability.)
I wanna beat the other fellas to the street. I don't want anyone should see; I ain't been walkin' so good. Someone gets the idea I can't make it on my own, they'll lock me up in The Refuge for good. Be a pal, Jack. Help me down. Let’s get our papers and hit the streets while we still can.
NEWSIES:
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Spanish American war is over! Post office thief caught! Dark days ahead for pigeons! Mile a-minute Murphy breaks world cycling record! Theodore Roosevelt wins election for New York Governor! July 5, 1899: Trolley strike enters second week!
DAVEY JACOBS:
They got us this time. I'll grant you that. But we took round one. And with press like this our fight is far from over. Every newsie who could walk showed up this morning to sell papes like the strike never happened. -- And I was there with them. If I don't sell papes, my folks don't eat. But then I saw this look on Weasel's face; he was actually nervous. And I realized this isn't over. We got them worried. Really worried. And I walked away. Lots of other kids did, too. And that is what you call a beginning.
HANNAH:
The entire city is shut down No one is working anywhere. And everyone is blaming you. They’re all calling the Mayor, the publishers, the manufacturers…and such language! …Hey you can’t just barge in here!
LES:
(Les is around 8 years old, and during this monologue is trying to impress his older brother and friends.)
What's the hold up? I need to let my girl know. We've got a date. Yeah, you heard me. Fame is one intoxicatin' potion. And this here girl, Sally, she's a plum. So can we table the palaver and get back to business? Will Medda let us have the theater or not?
“table the palaver” means “cut out the small talk and get to the point. Palaver is pronounced ‘puh-LAV-er’