By Brenna Corporal
Newsies. Newsies!! NNNNNEEEEWWWWSSSSIIIIEEEEESSSSS. This has been the speech patterns of Fansies everywhere. Fansies are fans of the Disney musical Newsies. I myself am a HUGE Fansie- I’ve seen the show three times! If you know Newsies then you know that it closed on Sunday, August 24th, but despite that, that doesn’t stop me from talking about my personal Newsies story — how this show affected me, personally.
We’ve previously posted about this closing, writing about how this “little musical that could” got its start and then became one of Broadway’s biggest hits. But Newsies is so much more than that. Newsies is a story about the underdog rising up and winning. Newsies is an inspiration. Newsies brought a generation of fans to their feet, in more ways than one. Newsies has become, to many, a second family- to the actors, to the creators, and to the fans. Newsies changed so many people’s lives. Here’s how it changed mine.
It’s November 2012. Every year, I see a Broadway show for my birthday, and this year, I’m seeing Newsies! I was so excited- I heard that it was amazing. Cute boys who sing and dance all over the stage- what’s not to love? So I saw the show, and I LOVED it! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go to the stage door after the show, since it was my actual birthday and we had family at home waiting to go out to dinner.
But I slowly began to then do some research on how it came to be. A few weeks later, my director of my Drama Club announced that we would be going on a trip to see Newsies AND participate in a Newsies dance workshop! I was FREAKING OUT. I signed up for the trip right away. It was to be in February. I had a countdown in my school planner of how many days until Newsies. I got the cast album and listened to it over and over. I watched all the videos I could find, from Corey Cott’s “King of New York” Broadway.com vlog, to past performances at parades and awards shows and so on. February came and so did a huge storm. Our trip was cancelled. I was devastated. But it was rescheduled for May, so at least I had that to look forward to. To make up for it, I went into the city one day and waited at the stage door- I FINALLY got to meet Corey Cott, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Ben Fankhauser, and the rest of the cast. It was one of the best days ever- the cast was so nice and sweet, and I couldn’t wait to be able to see them again in May.
But that was a few months away. So to pass the time, I immersed myself even more in Newsies. I watched videos to learn the exact choreography to “King of New York”- Newsies got me dancing again. It was something I only did when I had to, for shows and whatnot, but now I was dancing EVERYWHERE. I’m so thankful that Newsies helped bring dance back into my life; I memorized all, yes ALL, of the lyrics to the high energy, fifty-million-people-singing-at-once opening number, “Carrying the Banner”; I even wrote fanmail to Corey Cott and Kara Lindsay– and they both wrote me back!
One part of Corey’s letter that I will never forget, aside from when he wrote, “Dear Brenna- cool name!”, is when he wrote, “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t make it.” Those words of advice meant so much to me. I, like every teenager who has ever done theater, have gone through times where I thought I am horrible, I have no talent, I will never amount to anything, theatrical or not. But whenever I feel that way, I just remember those words. Who am I to tell myself that I can’t do something? I can do anything I set my mind to! If someone has enough determination and passion, I truly believe that anything is possible. And what do you know, isn’t that just the very message of Newsies as well?
Well of course May came, I saw the show and had a great dance lesson to learn the choreo to “Seize the Day.” It was amazing. Fast forward a year, and one day on a whim, my friends and I got rush tickets to Newsies and saw the show together. It was an amazing experience. Altogether, Newsies has become a show that is so close to my heart in so many ways. The lyrics have ways to touch my heart. The story is one we can all relate to. And the cast is a group of people who truly love what they’re doing every night. Newsies is a show that has inspired people and brought them together in ways nobody ever saw possible.
So this is a proper farewell to that “little musical that could.” To Newsies– thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve been for your fans. It is so difficult to put into words the joy and love you’ve brought to millions of people. The fact that one show could be so much to so many truly shows just how important theater is. So thank you for giving us something to believe in.
Newsies forever, second to none. One for all. And all for one.