Photo credit: Deen van Meer
“When I was eleven, I was cast in a national tour of The Sound of Music. When I was 14, I was in the New York premiere of The Little Prince at Lincoln Center,” Stephanie Styles told Hollywood on the Potomac. “I spent 4 years at the University of Michigan; then between my last day of school and my first final was when my final audition for Newsies was in New York. I found out that I got the role while studying for my final exam and this is my big first big break outside of college with musical theater as an adult actor.”
“Katherine” and “Jack Kelly” a.k.a. “Kid Blink”
Newsies is the Winner of the 2012 Tony Awards® for Best Score and Best Choreography, a high-energy explosion of song and dance now touring North America and playing at The National Theatre in Washington, DC from June 9th to 21st. Styles plays Katherine. “So it was kind of a big turning point for me. Being out on the road with this tour is kind of my first debut, coming out party as an adult professional actor.”
Newsies is a Disney Theatrical Productions stage musical inspired by the real-life “Newsboy Strike of 1899,” which began when newspaper publishers raised the price for newsies, charging a dime more per hundred papers. The strike was led by a charismatic young newsboy Kid Blink, who rallied orphan and runaway newsies on a two-week-long action against Pulitzer, Hearst and other powerful newspaper publishers. Pulitzer did finally concede and agree to the exact deal that Harvey Fierstein’s book dramatizes. As a result, not only were the boys considerably better off, it was in many ways the beginning of child labor movement. The show has music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman.
“Yes, it’s true. It is based on the 1899 newsboy strike which really happened. Of course, some moments are more dramatized and we have different situations,” explained Styles. “My character is based on the real life reporter Nellie Bly (the pen name of American journalist Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman) who was this young female reporter who despite her age and her gender was able to accomplish so much and really transform publishing and journalism for women. Her birthday was a few weeks ago and Google transformed their homepage to a tribute to Nellie Bly, universally beloved and so monumental for our history and for women. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today, especially because of her. This character wouldn’t exist without her.”
“In our show we have a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old little boy. They were really young when they did all this. It’s crazy what they had to deal with every day, like despite the weather and everything they still find that it’s a fine life through it all. They say summer stinks, winters are freezing, but they love doing what they do.”
The Union Newsboys
“All different kinds of people come to see the show. There is a large fan base called the Fansies, and they are a very passionate group of people. We love them and they are great supporters of the musical. Newsies is a David versus Goliath story – no matter who you are or where you come from, you have the power to make the difference. That’s the group of people who have supported our show, the Fansies. They really have been the fighting force at making the show so successful. I don’t know if the show would have made it past Paper Mill to Broadway or to this tour without them. It’s unbelievable, it’s thrilling, getting to be a part of it every day is a dream come true. I get to sing Jack Feldman’s songs, act this amazing part and tour across America with these amazingly handsome and talented young men. It’s really a great job. Who wouldn’t want to fall in love on a rooftop? It’s a great job.”
“I’m the biggest Disney fan you will ever meet. I’m obsessed with Disney. My dream has always been to work with the company, I love working for the Walt Disney company and Disney theatrical productions. I would just love to continue working for them. It’s an amazing company and I just love all types of medium, whether it’s musical theater, opera, film, tv, voice overs. I love it all so as long as I can keep on telling great stories I’ll be a happy camper,” concluded Styles enthusiastically. After DC they go to Boston for 2 weeks and then to Toronto for 2 months.
Some fun facts:
The antique Chandler & Price printing press used in the show was manufactured in the early 1900s and is 1200 lbs of solid steel. It is fully capable of printing, and an expert printer, who specializes in vintage machines, was brought in to train staff and actors in its intricate workings.
There are approximately 150 newspapers used every performance, specifically printed with the headline “Trolley Strike Enters Third Week.” These papers are carefully cared for, to avoid tearing, so they can be used for multiple performances.
The 11 newspaper bundles at the newsstand and in the fight scene are foam-filled with a paper outer layer, to avoid injury and reduce the amount of paper used in the show.
The 18 “Newsie Banner” bundles are composed of 300 pages of legal paper glued together and covered with contact paper to avoid tearing as they are tossed around the stage.
Click here for tickets.
Disney’s Newsies on tour:
