SUNDRE – A local theatre group hopes to bring to the Sundre Arts Centre’s stage an historically-based Broadway musical.
To test the waters and entice anyone with a penchant for the performance arts to get involved, B.S. Productions is putting on a music workshop on the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 24 to gauge potential interest in a show called Newsies.
“It’s really a powerful musical, great story, great solos, lots of humour, love story as well, and that’s what we’re excited about,” said musical director Jamie Syer, who co-founded B.S. Productions alongside his creative counterpart and director Brian Bailey.
Inspired by actual events, the musical tells the tale of a group of news boys and girls on the streets of New York who back in 1899 helped spark the labour movement to life when they went on strike to try and improve their working conditions, he said.
“They were striking against Joseph Pulitzer, who was the editor of the New York World at that point.”
To bring the musical to life, B.S. Productions is looking for an all-ages ensemble.
“We need some strong teenage singers. We need lots of kids as the newsies. And there are roles for adults too, of course, including – unusual in a musical – some guys who have a good voice, but we don’t need them to sing and dance. They play some of the heavies in the show.”
Asked to elaborate, Syer said the “heavies” are the corporate enforcers sent to bust the strike.
“There are a couple of guys that aren’t too reticent at doing whatever they need to do to keep order,” he said.
“There’s some tough guys in the show that these kids are up against,” he said.
“They get their comeuppance in the end. But this was a rough life for these kids on the street.”
The strike was among the first-ever worker-led actions that helped spur on the labour movement, he said.
“It was these kids – these young workers – that were at the forefront of making that happen.”
While the musical will naturally require some talented and finely-tuned vocal chords, there are also a few roles available for those who would prefer to be on the stage without having to sing, he said.
To that end, the B.S. Productions team is putting on a workshop as it did over the past couple of years for both Anne of Green Gables and Mary Poppins, performances that would later go on to sell out.
“We’ve got the same choreographers involved that worked for us on Mary Poppins. They’re keen,” he said.
“What they did for Mary Poppins was just remarkable; they are all looking forward to creating something spectacular for Newsies.”
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“We’ll spend a couple of hours just exploring the show, exploring the music, having good time, and hopefully generating some more energy among people who think they might like to audition for the show.”
Although a date has not yet been firmed, auditions will take place near the end of September.
“Like all our shows, we don’t know until we get to auditions if we actually have a show. But we’ve always been successful so far and we’re hoping this will be the same,” he said.
“Some people are already practising up for the parts that they would like to try out for,” he said.
“(And) we’re always delighted if we hear from people that we’ve never met before, because that helps keep everything fresh and exciting.”
B.S. Productions always has a few options in mind with a preference for plays that feature an intergenerational cast.
“That was one of our criteria,” he said when asked why they picked Newsies this time.
“We want shows that tell a strong and worthwhile story, and we want shows that are going to uplift people with the music that they’re hearing and singing. So we felt that Newsies checked all those boxes.”
Newsies is a high-energy play that will come along with some challenges, he said.
“All our shows have been challenging – they’re always challenging in slightly different ways,” he said.
Mary Poppins this past February was the group’s biggest show to date as far as the size of the cast was concerned.
“And we had huge challenges in costuming as well.”
Newsies, on the other hand, is very energetic from start to finish and also comes with a demanding musical score, he said.
“It’s the energy and the action in this show, which sets it apart a little bit from anything we’ve done before,” he said.
“Figuring out exactly how we’re going to bring that to fruition is one of the challenges.”
With a level of flexibility in the number of newsies, the cast could vary between 25 to 30 actors, he said.
“If you’re 10 or above you’re eligible to try out for the show; if you think you’ve got the voice and the energy, we’d love to hear you.”
Syer added he’s willing to offer vocal coaching to anybody who might be seeking some advice on choosing their songs, getting their voice up to scratch, or even figuring out what they want to audition for.
Asked what continues to keep him and the B.S. Productions team passionate about coming back for more following several years of successful shows, Syer said, “After you’ve done something for a while, sometimes it’s hard to imagine a year without something like that happening.”
He also expressed a fondness for seeing the cast develop as the performers learn the show, along the way forging intergenerational friendships and becoming a community.
“And then just hearing the voices come alive, the music come alive, the story develop – just watching all of that come together over the course of months as everybody heads towards this goal of six performances … I think that’s what keeps us going.”
