The Louisa County Theatre class has finished up their 2026 musical “Newsies.” The production  showcased  March 27-29. The preparation spanned the second semester, and during this time, the cast faced roadblocks because of weather and sickness. 

“The weather has been a huge challenge this semester, missing an entire week of rehearsals and then two additional days because of the stormy weather,” Fine Arts Director Jelita Hopkins wrote in an email. “In addition, we have had a terrible bout of the flu spread through over a third of the cast in these final two weeks.”

 Despite this, the cast continued to rehearse daily, following the strict production schedule.

 “Preparation was definitely intense,” junior Luke Purcell wrote in an email. “ It was many times five rehearsals a week, and near the show dates it became six or seven.”

Even though preparing to perform is the main step in producing a musical, the first step is choosing the right one. Hopkins chose “Newsies,” a Disney production in order to accommodate the male-heavy cast. 

“This year, unlike recent years, most of our strongest actors and singers are the male members of the class, so I knew I wanted to do a musical that featured strong male leads,” Hopkins wrote.  “There are times in large-group numbers when we have to turn down all the mics, because they completely fill the theater with their powerful voices!”

Ella Blackburn played the the female lead role of Katherine Plumber. The character is a journalist who acts as a voice for the young boys who are on strike and stays alongside the boys. The show is based of off the news boy strike of 1899 and the plot revolves around a group of newsies who strike against Joseph Pulitzer.  

“The message of ‘Newsies’ is important because it highlights the hardship of life back then,” Blackburn wrote. “It teaches the audience not to take anything for granted and if you work hard enough, and care about an issue enough you can change the world just like the poor orphaned boys in ‘Newsies: The Musical.’”