By Madelynn Bryan
This year, Christian Unified’s drama program put on the ambitious production of Newsies, and they pulled it off phenomenally! Many students who aren’t part of Christian Unified’s fine arts program had the opportunity to participate in this dance extravaganza. This musical surrounds the story of Jack Kelly (played by Josh Hitchcock), who leads a group of poor boys who sell newspapers in New York for little money in a strike against the ruthless and exploiting business of the paper. While onstage, the students displayed their jaw-dropping talent, while also keeping in mind that they were representing God. Sophomore Romy Aguilar, who played Newsie “Specs” in the production, mentioned how she represents God onstage, saying “One way I represent God onstage is by giving it my all! Whether it was dancing or acting, I made sure that I was doing it to represent the talents that God has gifted me with.”
And truly, God was with the performance the entire time. There were a few complications along the way, but Newsies showed on time and surpassed all expectations. Some students expressed their thoughts about the production. Sophomore Josh Hitchcock said, “My experience in Newsies was super fun! It was very time-consuming and tiring at times, but still very fun. Watching the show come together after all of our hard work was really awesome to see.” Junior Nora Benitez, who played Medda Larkin, detailed the challenges of putting on an intense production like Newsies. “One of the most challenging parts of Newsies was putting a production on with so many people,” she said, “but it turned out to work well by making the scene changes run smoothly and creating striking group moments onstage.”
Overall, the production of Newsies was a success, and many students and staff found themselves surprised and impressed. This would never have happened without the amazing Mrs. Codding, who has revolutionized the drama department at CHS. Sophomore Emma Folsom mentioned how she thinks, “Mrs. Codding is an awesome director, and we are all really lucky to have her! I can’t wait to see what she does with the drama program for my last two years at CHS.”
