There is a song sung during the climax of the show called Once And For All. It’s an emotional anthem the Newsies sing while printing their very own newspaper that declares there will be change. Standing by itself, it’s a very empowering song. After seeing a few performances of the number, I knew something was still missing. The audience, while still feeling intensity from the current moment, wasn’t quite getting all the way there. The fact that this did actually happen was being lost on them. The Newsboy Strike of 1899 was real. There were kids starving and slaving away to feed their families, and they were much younger than our actors. I wanted to remind the audience that this was a much bigger thing than we could ever portray on our stage.

While working on the implementation, I kept in mind something I read from Marty Sklar’s book, One Little Spark!. It said, “You can educate people- but don’t tell them you’re doing it!” I needed to be sure this moment didn’t turn into a history lesson for the audience, but that it added to the emotional impact of the story. I found some wonderful source material through research with the Library of Congress, and was able to implement them into the show.

The first progression shows images of real Newsboys and child workers without any shoes to emphasize the line they are singing, “This is for kids shining shoes on the street with no shoes on their feet every day.” We had discussed the possibility of having these images spin in like classic newspaper headlines, or almost appear as a slideshow. But in the spirit of doing this with a purpose, we opted for the simple long crossfade. This image was shown for a verse until we got to the bridge of the song. I’m in love with this bridge, and every member of the audience, young and old, can’t help but move their head to the music during this section, which is the loudest The Playmill Theatre has ever been. At the very beginning of the bridge, the projection changes back to the cellar with a photo of the original newsies behind them engraved into the cellar walls. I wanted it to seem like those very kids were there, on stage, singing right alongside them.

The emotional impact of this moment has been clear since its implementation into performances. Even now, while typing this entry, I’m getting emotional. I love the fact that we can use forms of theatre (whether in a traditional space or a theme park) to communicate historical truths in meaningful ways.

Video example of the powerful transition into Stage 3 of the progression.