Newsies Jr. Program

NEWSIES JR. DISNEY’S

2023-24 Season

DIRECTOR’S NOTES When I got the green light to do Newsies Jr. in our junior high, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait for another generation to connect with the story the same way I had over a decade ago. I was 14 years old when Newsies opened on Broadway, and I instantly fell in love. The music was exhilarating, the characters magnetic, and the choreography and acrobatics made my heart leap. But beyond the sheer entertainment value the show gives at first glance, the story packed a punch that kept me coming back. The brotherly love between characters touched my loyal heart; watching how the newsies and friends picked each other up when they were beaten down and fought for a cause they were passionate about, against all odds, is what moved me.

Newsies is based on the 1992 movie of the same name, which is in fact based on the Newsboys’ strike of 1899 in New York City. Many characters, including Jack, Katherine, Spot, Medda, and Pulitzer, are loosely based on real people. As I researched primary sources to influence our show’s design concept, I was moved by real photos of the newsboys (and girls!) from the time. Historically, newsies were anywhere from 6-15 years old, worked 14-hour days, and many were orphans. So when newspaper moguls like Hearst and Pulitzer raised the wholesale price of newspapers in 1899, the newsies banded together and went on strike. Two weeks later, they reached a compromise with the publishers and changed the perception of what working kids are capable of. As Katherine says in our show, it was a David and Goliath situation.

I love Crutchie’s line, “the things we do today will be tomorrow’s news.” One hundred twenty-five years later, we are still talking about this strike and the brave kids who led it. I saw an incredible quote once that said that in movies about time travel, the characters are always concerned about altering one small detail of the past because it could drastically change the course of history. And yet, in our daily lives, we think our little actions don’t matter.

We may not have a Joseph Pulitzer in our lives, but there is pain, corruption, and injustice all around that needs changing. God wants to use his people to bring heaven to earth. So standing against injustice, even when it’s risky, or providing for the orphan and the widow, even sharing the gospel, we cannot waste any time in doing these things. They do make a difference for generations to come.

What will you do today that will be tomorrow’s news?

Sophia McCann, Director 2

P R O D U C T I O N

O F

NEWSIES JR. DISNEY’S

February 8 & 9, 2024 | 6:00pm February 10, 2024 | 2:00pm & 6:00pm MUSIC BY

LYRICS BY

ALAN MENKEN

BOOK BY

JACK FELDMAN

HARVEY FIERSTEIN

BASED ON THE DISNEY FILM WRITTEN BY

BOB TZUDIKER AND NONI WHITE ORIGINALLY PRODUCED BY

DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS Disney’s Newsies JR. Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

DIRECTED BY

SOPHIA McCANN SCENIC DESIGN & TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

JUSTIN McPHERSON

CHOREOGRAPHER

VOCAL DIRECTOR

CHLOE DIEPENBROCK

BRITT GUNTER

COSTUME DESIGN

LIGHTING DESIGN

KATHY RISK

KEATON MILLER

STAGE MANAGER

SOUND DESIGN

AUDREY STARINK

ROBERT RUBINO

HEAD PROPS

HAIR & MAKEUP DESIGN

BAILEY COFFEE

GRACE EUERLE

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SCENES & MUSICAL NUMBERS ACT I PROLOGUE: ALLEY Santa Fe (Prologue)

SCENE 1: NEWSIE SQUARE Carrying the Banner Carrying the Banner (Reprise)

SCENE 2: PULITZER’S OFFICE SCENE 3: STREET SCENE 4: MEDDA’S THEATER Just a Pretty Face

SCENE 5: NEWSIE SQUARE The World Will Know

SCENE 6: KATHERINE’S OFFICE Watch What Happens

SCENE 7: NEWSIE SQUARE, NEXT MORNING Seize the Day Santa Fe

SCENE 8: THE REFUGE Letter from The Refuge

— INTERMISSION —

ACT II SCENE 9: NEWSIE SQUARE King of New York

SCENE 10: MEDDA’S THEATER SCENE 11: PULITZER’S OFFICE, AFTERNOON SCENE 12: MEDDA’S THEATER Brooklyn’s Here

SCENE 13: NEWSIE SQUARE/CELLAR DOOR Seize the Day (Reprise) Once and for All

SCENE 14: PULITZER’S OFFICE SCENE 15: NEWSIE SQUARE Finale

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CAST Hannah Allmen............................................................................................... Albert/Flushing Newsie Audrey Borders........................................................................................ Woman/Woodside Newsie Annika Breiland.................................................................................................................................Wiesel Milania Chacon............................................................................................................................ Pat/Scab Kaela Chang...................................................................................................................................Crutchie Anya Chen............................................................................................................................................Davey Mia Doursounian.......................................................................................................Olive/Spot Conlon Lauren Fiore........................................................................................................... Jo Jo/Bronx Newsie Arden Gatewood........................................................................................................................... Buttons Alaina Gupta........................................................................................................................................ Darcy Brayden Hatlo Porter.....................................................................................................................Snyder Noelle Kraver............................................................................................. Pigtails/Woodside Newsie Eva Lundgaard............................................................................................................................Katherine Caden Malinowski......................................................................................................... Oscar Delancey Gemma Marfise..............................................................................................................Morris Delancey Audrey McDonald..............................................................................................................................Muriel Avianna Nazzal................................................................................................................................Hannah Chloe Nyberg...................................................................................................................Customer/Scab Mia Patel.................................................................................................................................................. Seitz Ashley Pham................................................................................................................................Jack Kelly Anjali Prabhakar.................................................................................................................... Tommy Boy Emily Rank.................................................................................................... Nancy/Richmond Newsie Audrey Sansone.................................................................................................Ada/Brooklyn Newsie Kensey Sponseller..............................................................................................................................Hazel Elias Stewart......................................................................... Customer/Governor Teddy Roosevelt Elle Studer................................................................................................................................................. Les Ava Thompson.....................................................................................................................Medda Larkin Landon Tsang....................................................................................................................................Romeo Chloe Vartanian............................................................................................... Specs/Flushing Newsie Avery Watson................................................................................................................................... Bunsen Josiah Willson..................................................................................................................Joseph Pulitzer Adelyn Wilson................................................................................................................... Scab/Dorothy Riley Wilson.......................................................................................................Ethel/Brooklyn Newsie Allison Zhong...............................................................................................................Police Officer/Bill Isabella Zhu........................................................................................................................................... Race 5

BIOGRAPHIES Sophia proudly attended Valley Christian High School, class of 2015, and from there went on to attend Azusa Pacific University’s BFA for Acting Major, which was ranked in the top 25 acting programs in the nation during her time of attendance. After hearing from the Lord it was time to move back to the Bay Area, Sophia transferred to San Jose State University, where she graduated with a B.A. in Theatre Arts, Magna Cum Laude.

Sophia has long dreamed of becoming a theatre teacher. She feels fulfilled and thankful to be able to coach and support young actors to become better artists, get better acquainted with themselves, and, most of all, discover their Creator.

Sophia McCann Director

Chloe Diepenbrock Choreographer

Chloe currently serves as a Theatre Teacher & Choreographer for Valley Christian Theatre, as well as a High School Bible Teacher. She has previously held numerous artistic and production team roles, including Director of HEART Academy Youth Theatre (Fiddler on the Roof, The Music Man) and Director, Production Manager, Stage Manager, Assistant Director and Choreographer for the VCHS and VCE Theatre and Dance Departments.

Projects with VCT include assistant directing The Play That Goes Wrong (VCHS), directing Cinderella, Youth Edition (Summer), choreographing The Addams Family (VCHS), creating, directing & choreographing FOUND: A New Musical Revue (VCHS), directing A Charlie Brown Christmas (VCHS), Disney’s High School Musical, Jr. (Summer), choreographing Hello, Dolly!

(VCHS), directing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Some Enchanted Evening (VCHS), and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Jr. (Summer). She is currently choreographing Into the Woods, coming to the High School stage this March. Chloe is a graduate of Corban University (M.A., Christian Leadership and Nonprofit Leadership) and Biola University (B.A., Theatre Arts). She recently performed on stage with Palo Alto Players (Beauty and the Beast) and South Bay Musical Theatre (On The Town). You can catch her this spring in Palo Alto Players’ production of The Music Man (paplayers.org).

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION STAFF ASSISTANT TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

BACKSTAGE MANAGER

ASSISTANT BACKSTAGE MANAGER

LIGHT BOARD OPERATOR

KEATON MILLER GAVIN TAAN RUNNING CREW

WALTER KUCHAREWSKI, JOSEPH GIAMMONA, ISABELLA NGUYEN, INIKA MUKHERJEE

MATEO ROSS

BAILEY COFFEE

SOUND BOARD OPERATOR

OLIVER KAELIN

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT/LEAD HOUSE MANAGER

REBEKAH RISK GRAPHIC DESIGN

HOUSE MANAGER

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KATIE LOPES

LENA CHOI & MAEGAN COLLETT

MUSIC AND LYRICS BY

BOOK BY

STEPHEN SONDHEIM

JAMES LAPINE

ORIGINALLY DIRECTED ON BROADWAY BY

ORCHESTRATIONS BY

JAMES LAPINE

JONATHAN TUNICK

MARCH 8-9, 14-16, 21-23 | 7 PM MARCH 16 & 23 | 2 PM SKYWAY THEATRE BOXOFFICE.VCS.NET 2023-24 SEASON

INTO THE WOODS Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

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AFFIRMING THE ARTS Spring 2024 Jan 20.................................... West Coast Elite Dance Competition - HS Dance Feb 8-10.................................. Newsies Jr. - JH Theatre Mar 8........................................ Serenade to Spring - JH/HS Strings Mar 8-9.................................... Into The Woods - HS Theatre 14-16, 21-23 Apr 11...................................... Percussion Extravaganza - JH Drums/HS Percussion Apr 18.................................... Faith, Hope, and Love - JH/HS Choirs Apr 25-27............................... Emotions: Movie Night - HS Dance May 2-4.................................. Experiments in Comedy & Tragedy - HS Theatre May 6-17................................. Art Show - EL Art May 10-11................................ Kidservatory Musical Production - EL Theatre May 14.................................... Festival of the Arts - K-12 Music May 15-22............................... Art Show - JH/HS Art May 16-18................................ DanceScapes: Hollywood - EL/JH Dance May 22.................................... Theatre & Dance Senior Showcase - HS Conservatory

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PLANNED Giving

The Shechem Oak Society empowers our community to make an extraordinary impact on future generations. The society comprises all who generously bequeath legacy gifts to Valley Christian Schools.

God assured Abraham of keeping His promise to grant the land to Abraham’s descendants. Shechem holds a significant place in this narrative—it’s where Jacob excavated a well and erected an altar, where Joseph’s family laid his remains to rest, where Joshua delivered his parting words in service to the Lord, and where Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah to the Samaritan woman at the well (Genesis 12:6, 33:18, Joshua 24:26, John 4:12). Shechem stands as a powerful symbol of God’s faithfulness across generations.

We fervently pray that VCS, like Shechem, will serve as a reminder of God’s unwavering faithfulness in Silicon Valley and worldwide.

At a time when many American educational institutions are straying from biblical values, you can ensure that Valley Christian Schools continues its Quest for Excellence for future generations. Join us in providing high-quality Christ-centered education to our children and grandchildren by including VCS in your will.

VCS partners with Thompson & Associates to offer confidential and complimentary estate planning consultations to our board members, administrators, faculty, staff, and community. Join my wife, Kris, myself, and others in discovering the most tax-efficient means of transferring your estate to benefit your family and your passions.

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President

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Clifford E. Daugherty, Ed.D.

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As a trusted member of our VCS community, please accept our gift to you and arrange your estate planning consultation with Darren Penny of Thompson & Associates.

You may email giftplanning@vcs.net or call my office at 408-513-2503. If you have already included VCS in your planned giving, kindly inform us so we may include you in our Shechem Oak Society.

OAK S O EM H Looking forward,

ristian

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MISSION STATEMENT Valley Christian Schools’ mission is to provide a nurturing environment offering quality education supported by a strong foundation of Christian values in partnership with parents, equipping students to become leaders to serve God, to serve their families, and to positively impact their communities and the world.

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VISION STATEMENT A world where every student pursues their personal Quest for Excellence™.

FOUNDING STATEMENT Valley Christian Schools supports the homes and churches of students in providing an education that is grounded in the Judeo-Christian values of the Bible, as reflected in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. Valley Christian Schools is committed to a Quest for Excellence™ in all of its educational programs, and provides a comprehensive kindergarten through twelfth grade curriculum with a rigorous college preparatory program. Firmly founded on Christian values, Valley Christian Schools challenges youth to aspire toward lives of character, service and influence while pursuing their individual Quests for Excellence. valleychristian

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