Upcoming 'Newsies' lead, CYT colleagues share Big Apple experiences

A late 1890s newsboy strike inspired the 1992 movie musical "Newsies."

The live production version made its Broadway debut in 2012 in New York City, where more than a century earlier the striking newsboys bent newspaper tycoons Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst into a compromise after disrupting newspaper circulation for several days until the moguls agreed to buy back unsold newspapers. An increase in newspaper prices during the Spanish-American War was offset by an increase in sales; when Pulitzer and Hearst failed to return The New York World and New York Journal to pre-war prices after the war ended, the newspaper boys revolted.

Christian Youth Theater North Idaho will bring this beloved true story-based musical to the Midge and Pepper Smock Family Theatre stage Nov. 15-24

Ashley Cleveland, who plays the lead female role of Katherine Plumber, said there is much to enjoy about this production of "Newsies." She said "Newsies" heavily relies on the ensemble, which comprises performers who are giving the show 100%.

"We have some major Broadway level dancers in our cast that are going to blow your mind," Cleveland said. "The kids in this cast have worked so hard to give these songs everything they have."

Cleveland had her own real-life NYC experience earlier this year when she was nearly cast in a touring production of "The Addams Family." 

"I am so glad that I had the experience to go to New York and audition in front of amazing directors of all kinds," she said.

Cleveland was active with CYT North Idaho until she was 14. 

"CYT is my rock," she said. 

Cleveland said it shaped her as an actor, singer and dancer, and taught her how to be a good person.

"Most of the major mentors in my life have been students or teachers of CYT," she said, adding that CYT fosters an important sense of community for kids.

"CYT set me up to venture off into other performing opportunities feeling prepared and excited," she said.

David Eldridge, an artistic associate with Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre, also spent his formative years with CYT North Idaho. The 2019 North Idaho College grad began with the children's theater in 2014. He and his sister were in the program together. Eldridge's performances included "The Secret Garden in Concert" and "Schoolhouse Rock, LIVE!" He also served as a drama teacher.

"CYT gave me some core understanding of how theater works and made me learn how to ground myself even if things get a little chaotic," he said.

Eldridge also auditioned for "The Addams Family." He can't say much about it yet, but he did share how CYT helped prepare him for the process. He said CYT and the people he met through the program helped him to be more outgoing.

"I had my first audition in New York for 'The Addams Family' national tour in September, and even got a callback," he said. "Of course, there are many factors and many people that helped get me there, but for the sake of this interview it is worth noting that CYT, even if indirectly, was one of those factors. I'm grateful for my time at CYT, the things I learned there and the people I met there."

Another CYT North Idaho alum who chased his dreams to the Big Apple is Casey Weeks, a 2018 Post Falls High School grad who went to NIC before attending Marymount Manhattan College in NYC, where he graduated with a bachelor of fine arts in musical theater in 2022.

Weeks began with CYT when he was 10. His first production during a CYT summer camp was a kids version of "Newsies."

He said CYT is the foundation of who he is as a performer.

"It gave me the building blocks to grow into a confident performer who was able to attend a college with one of the best musical theater programs in the country," Weeks said via email. "CYT gave me mentors that I still seek advice from and confide in today, Trigger Weddle being one and is still very prominent in my life."

Since venturing to NYC, Weeks has been involved in several projects and he occasionally makes appearances in Coeur d’Alene.

He said to the youth in North Idaho who are aspiring actors, singers and performers: "If this is what you want to do for a living, then live in it."

"Do not stop exercising that performance muscle," Weeks said. "Audition for everything, network with people, take classes and fully commit to it. We get one life, so why not all gas no brakes on our dreams?"

"Newsies" tickets are $20 standard, $18 for seniors 65 and older, $16 per person for groups of 10 or more and $22 at the door.

The Midge and Pepper Smock Family Theatre at The Kroc is at 1765 W. Golf Course Road, Coeur d'Alene.

Info: cytnorthidaho.org

    CYT North Idaho student Bren Altenbach as Jack Kelly and CYT alum Ashley Cleveland as Katherine Plumber play the leads in "Newsies," which opens Nov. 15 at the Kroc.
  

    Casey Weeks is seen as Benjamin in a 2014 CYT North Idaho production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Weeks began his theatrical career with CYT at age 10. He now lives in New York City where he continues to pursue his acting dreams.