by Bonnie Collings
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Warragul Youth Theatre is bringing Disney's "Newsies Junior" to the West Gippsland Arts Centre over the September school holidays.
Based on the true story of the 1899 news boy paper strike in New York, "Newsies Junior" tells the tale of Jack Kelly and the newsies as they fight for their rights against the Pulitzer publishing company. First time Youth Theatre director, Flynn Francis, said the show was an example of a classic underdog story.
"It's a David and Goliath story about the underdog newsies taking on the media conglomerate for raising newspaper prices without consulting them," Flynn said.
Stepping away from the traditional fairy tale productions Warragul Youth Theatre has performed in the past, Flynn said "Newsies Junior" was more of a "real" show.
"This is a show for everybody, it's a very real story," Flynn said. "People who love history, dancing and great music will love it. It still has that Disney element to the music which makes it very whimsical."
The cast of "Newsies Junior" has been rehearsing every Sunday since the end of June, building teamwork skills and forming new friendships along the way.
With around two weeks until opening night, the cast has a mixture of nerves and excitement.
Sixteen-year-old Noa Fogarty plays Jack Kelly, the confident leader of the newsies. Noa said he'd enjoyed learning the show and working with a supportive group of people.
"I love all the dancing, the songs are awesome," he said.
"Also just the people in the cast, everyone gets along really well, we're all friends. It's a great environment and I look forward to coming to rehearsals every Sunday."
Noa said learning all his lines for the show was a challenge he'd worked hard to overcome.
"I have a lot of lines so learning them is tricky," he said. "I practice non-stop, even if I don't want to. Even at school, some of the cast that go to Marist get together and rehearse at lunchtime."
"Newsies Junior" is fifteen-year-old Alana Magyar's first Warragul Youth Theatre production, where she will be portraying Katherine.
"Katherine is an aspiring reporter, she faces a lot of challenges because she's a girl in 1899," Alana said.
Alana said the people she had met through Youth Theatre had been friendly and welcoming.
"I've loved all the dancing and meeting everyone and doing [this show] with them," she said. "They're really great to work with!"
AJ Glaister is keen to take to the stage as Medda Larkin, a "spunky theatre owner."
"I'm excited to show all my friends and family what we've been working on!" AJ said.
AJ said Youth Theatre provided a great opportunity for aspiring young actors to learn from each other.
"The Youth Theatre community is so friendly and welcoming and I love learning from everybody, no matter their age because they all have little tidbits of wisdom to pass on," AJ said.
"Newsies Junior" is the final show Warragul Youth Theatre is putting on for 2023. Director, Flynn, said audiences wouldn't find a boring scene, especially with the creative use of new LED screens.
"Audiences can expect amazing vocals and incredible choreography," Flynn said. "It's a very dance and ensemble heavy show so you can expect to see so much going on. We're also making use of an LED screen to add an extra element to the show. It's something we haven't done before so we're really excited for that to come to life."
Flynn said Youth Theatre was a good environment for people new to theatre and wanted to give it a try for the first time.
"Not only does [Youth Theatre] cover the basics of theatre and help build that confidence, we also teach proper techniques that will help performers if they pursue theatre in the future."
Warragul Youth Theatre's "Newsies Junior," will perform six shows at the West Gippsland Arts Centre between Tuesday September 26 and Friday September 29.