In the Broadway musical Newsies, it’s 1899 and the nation’s
newspapers are sold by freelance kids and teenagers who buy a stack of papers
hoping to sell them for a small profit. Many of the newsies are orphaned and
homeless, but the meager profits they earn from selling papers helps them avoid
The Refuge, a children’s detention center which is unsafe because of how poorly
it is run. When the publisher decides to raise the cost of the papers, further
cutting in to the income of the young boys, they initially despair, but later
decide to strike. Inspired by real-life events, Newsies tells the story of how
the children and teens banded together to form a union to fight the powerful
publishing conglomerate.
Newsies returns to theaters for one more day on Saturday,
March 4 at 12:55 PM local time. For more information, check out
FathomEvents.com
The Adoption
Connection
Many of the newsies are orphaned, homeless children and
teens. The Refuge could provide housing for the boys, but it is more of a
detention center, and children there are underfed, underdressed, and forced to
sleep three to a bed. Two of the new
newsies have a family, and are resorting to this work
to help their family, as
their father has been injured and lost his job. They’re surprised to learn that
not every kid has a family.
Strong Points
When children work together, they are able to improve their
situation, even against the intentions of powerful adults.
The kids and teens have strong loyalty for each other.
The show is pretty upbeat.
Challenges
Some kids who have been neglected might find the refuge
troubling. Kids who have been appropriately detained by social workers might
still find it frightening when these kids and teens are
chased by adults who
want to bring them to the Refuge.
A teen who walks on a crutch is sometimes mocked by others,
and is given the unfortunate nickname “Crutchie.”
A cruel adult threatens to remove two children from their
family.
Recommendations
There are some ways in which Newsies might brush painfully
up against the experiences of some kids who have been neglected and taken into
foster care. At the same time, it is a powerful and uplifting depiction of the
power that even kids can have when they join together for a right cause.
Consider watching this one with kids 8 or 9 and up.
Questions for
Discussion
When have you spoken up against something that you felt was
wrong? How did it go?
What causes do you believe in? What changes would you like to make in the world? What things do you think are going really well already?
What made the Newsies’ strike successful?
Who are your best friends?
Do you think social workers and police officers are
generally nice or mean?
Newsies returns to theaters for one more day on Saturday,
March 4 at 12:55 PM local time. For more information, check out
FathomEvents.com
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