The Theater Department at Glenwood Springs High School (GSHS) has officially brought “Newsies” to the Valley. The play, written by Harvey Fierstein, is certainly one that many theater critics have come across, but these local high schoolers brought the already heartfelt script to a whole new level of life.
“Newsies” is based on the newsboys’ strike of 1899, a movement facilitated by young people in retaliation against unfair pay by newspaper publishers, specifically Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst.
The story follows a group of young boys and teens selling papers. The antagonist, Pulitzer, runs the newspaper and doesn’t believe the papers are sensationalist enough. In order to afford catchy photos in the paper, what we might call click-bait today, he raised the price of papers and reduced the newsboys’ already slim paychecks.
Scared but also relentless and fierce the youngsters fight for change, despite the risks. The story doesn’t solely follow the strike, which is not so much glorified as portrayed with sincerity. While the characters battle to overcome fear and their own hesitancy, the show also rings with hope.
Don’t get this critic wrong, the show is a gas — playful but also honest and with an easy-flowing plot that pulls the audience in.
The beauty of the GSHS production lifted the already deeply in-depth storyline. One particularly intriguing aspect was the background of each character and the execution by the cast. Body language, attention to detail, interaction with the set and props was like watching a scene unfold in real life, just naturally beautiful. They weren’t acting on the stage, they lived on it.
The amount of passion these teens brought, both on and off stage, was inspiring. And, best of all, it seemed as though they were genuinely having a lot of fun.
The lights, set design and choreography took this performance to the beyond. The entirety of the theater was at play with newspapers thrown to the audience and newsies running through seating. Scene changes were graceful and the lighting perfectly illuminated each precious moment.
All in all, every fun, creative detail added a world of life.
The musical sensation only runs one more weekend (Feb. 27 to March 1) with Friday and Saturday shows at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets can be purchased at www.tinyurl.com/NewsiesGSHS
