'Newsies' hits Maconaquah High School this weekend

Mar. 8—BUNKER HILL — There's a select group of Maconaquah seniors who have performed together since they were in third grade.

That includes Molly Tenny.

She still remembers being a third grader, listening to the seniors give speeches to the rest of the theater department. The seniors told the young performers about how fast the years would go by. Tenny wasn't sure what they meant.

She does now. This is Tenny's 11th and final year performing at Maconaquah High School.

"It's been a lot of fun," she said. "It's went by a lot faster than I thought."

Tenny is part of the cast for this weekend's performances of "Newsies," which opens at 7 p.m. Friday. She has a few roles in the show.

Josiah Pyke stars as rebellious newsboy Jack Kelly, who leads a strike of young newspaper salesmen, after newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer raises the price newsies must pay for the paper.

"He uses his words to put him into situations his mouth can't get him out of," Pyke said.

The musical is loosely based on the newsboys' strike of 1899, a youth-led strike in New York City.

Pyke's character teams up with Davey, played by Zack Cass, and his little brother to organize the strike.

"A strapping, young charismatic man and his best man Davey," is how Pyke described the two main characters.

Davey might be timid, but he's the brains of the group.

"I feel like I'd have a very logical conversation with him," Cass said of his character. "It'd be a mature conversation."

Jayke Merritt plays the greedy newspaper publisher Pulitzer. He's not a likeable guy, but he is fun to play.

"I get to kind of do whatever I want," Merritt said.

"He's basically Mr. Krabs (from "SpongeBob SquarePants")," Cass added.

"I can grab him by the neck and throw him away," Merritt said, playfully grabbing at Pyke.

Pyke and the rest of the newsies are homeless youth. They dodge Warden Snyder of a juvenile detention center. A chase scene takes the main characters off the stage and through the audience.

Pyke's character hopes to escape the big city for Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Young female reporter Katherine Plumber, played by Brielle Smallwood, takes an interest in the boys' story.

"She's very determined to get her work done," said Smallwood, who describes her character as spunky and sarcastic.

"Newsies" features plenty of group numbers and tap dancing. It's not a show for an inexperienced cast.

It's why director Michelle Lybrook picked this specific year to do the musical. She knew she had the cast.

"I have kids who are super talented and willing to put the time in," Lybrook said.

And that isn't simply for rehearsals and learning the music. Maconaquah offered free tap-dancing lessons over the summer in preparation for the show.

"They've all been working toward this since June," Lybrook said.

Cass described learning to tap dance as cruel and unusual punishment. Other students have taken it in stride, though.

"It's really cool to see kids who thought they'd never put on tap shoes," said Haley Washburn, who plays a newsie and serves as the dance captain.

She worked with many of the young newsie extras who dance on stage.

The musical is a challenge to pull off, but it's a challenge the cast has enjoyed.

"I think this is a show where we're allowed creative freedom and we're allowed to fully embrace our characters," Tenny said. "There's really never a dull moment in the show. It's always go, go, go."

"The choreography is crazy, but it's my favorite part," Washburn added.

All these years might have gone fast, but it's not lost on the students, many who remarked that theater feels like family.

"My favorite part is working with this guy, right here," Cass said, putting his arm around Pyke. "He makes it easy. It's just a fun experience."

"Dang, bro, don't make me cry," Pyke replied.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.