Extra! Extra! Washington High scores ‘Newsies’

CEDAR RAPIDS - Theater students at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids will be some of the first students to stage 'Newsies,” a Tony Award-winning show that ran on Broadway until 2014.

Students learned during an end-of-the-school-year event that Disney had chosen Washington as one of the few high schools to stage the musical.

'Some of them weren't sure what to think because it's not a show that's been done around here,” head drama director Kyle Woollums said. 'But a lot of them, who had heard of the show and know the show's energy, were really excited.”

Washington High's rehearsal process will help inform a production handbook that Disney will distribute to high schools that put on future performances, Woollums said.

Working with material that hasn't yet been altered to suit high school performers will be a challenge, he said.

'We're really honored to have the ability to work on this project,” said Woollums, who also teaches French and Spanish at the high school. 'I think our whole team is really excited about the possibility of working with material that hasn't been worked through outside of professional theaters very much before.”

Students will perform 'Newsies” from Nov. 9 through 11, according to a district news release.

The musical is based on the Newsboy strike of 1899 and follows 'a band of underdogs who become unlikely heroes when they stand up to the most powerful men in New York,” according to the release.

The national tour of 'Newsies” was on stage at the Des Moines Civic Center last year.