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‘Newsies’ coming to West Geauga

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The West Geauga High School theater program is presenting “Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical” at 7:30 p.m. March 17, noon and

7:30 p.m. March 18 and 3 p.m. March 19. Tickets are $8 general admission for adults and $5 for students.

All performances are at the West Geauga Middle School gym stage.

Director Rachel Imhoff is in her second year directing musicals for West Geauga Middle and High schools.

“My goal is to build a large and successful program that draws in people from all over the community and communities around us,” Imhoff says. “I want this program to be a fun and safe place for students to come out of their shells and enjoy the creative process and journey towards putting together a musical production.

“My students are given many opportunities to learn about the process of blocking, set design, lighting, and are welcome to join our tech team and crew as well.”

“Newsies” is a popular title that Imhoff liked as her second show.

“Last year, the high school did ‘Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,’ the Broadway version,” she said. “I quickly discovered how many talented dancers I had in my cast, and I wanted to really show off their skills. ‘Newsies,’ as many people already know, is a very dance-heavy show with lots of opportunities for featured ensembles and dance solos, and many opportunities for tricks and flips.

“Of course, I’ve also just been a huge fan of the show for many years,” she added. “I love the message that children’s voices are important and can create change in our society. I think that message is very empowering to my cast and crew.

“‘Newsies’ has already taught my students so much about how resilience and hard work pays off, as well as the power of teamwork.”

Julianne Speyer is a 16-year-old sophomore cast member active in the Wolverettes Dance Team. She has appeared in both of Imhoff’s productions.

“I auditioned for ‘Newsies’ because I just love theater so much,” Julianne says. “I want to perform professionally in the future, so I do shows whenever I have the opportunity

“I hope to bring out new and interesting sides of my character that people haven’t seen before,” she added. “I think the message of this show is to fight for what you believe and if you really want something done, do whatever it takes to make it happen. I think it’s important because this show inspires people to stand up for themselves in big and small ways and that is incredible.” “I knew even before I started at West Geauga High School that I would want to audition for the musical, regardless of what it was, because musical theater is one of my greatest passions,” says freshman Natalie Gerstenberger. “I love nothing more than bringing a story to life before a live audience’s eyes.

“I know the magic of a good musical performance, and so why not take every chance I get to help create and enjoy that magic?” she added. “I have loved every part of the process so far and have made so many new friends whom I love and am so excited to keep working with.”

“I am very excited for the dance numbers,” says junior Anna Nicolosi. “They will definitely be a challenge, but I want to show the audience something worth remembering, and I think that ‘Newsies’ is definitely a show worth remembering. The music is very powerful and beautiful and I think a lot of people will like it. I think the overall objective of the play is just so powerful and important to get through to the audience.”

Break a leg to these Newsies this weekend.