Disney's NEWSIES Announces Cast for Chicago Engagement

Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce casting for the Chicago engagement of Disney's NEWSIES. The Tony Award-winning production will begin performances at the Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W Randolph) on Thursday, July 28 for a limited engagement through Sunday, August 7.

The production features Chicago natives Aisha de Haas as "Medda Larkin" and Anthony Norman as "Oscar Delancey," as well as Joey Barreiro as "Jack Kelly," Steve Blanchard as "Joseph Pulitzer," Morgan Keene as "Katherine," Stephen Michael Langton as "Davey," Andy Richardson as "Crutchie" and Turner Birthisel and Ethan Steiner alternating the role of "Les."

Rounding out the cast are Bill Bateman, Josh Burrage, Kevin Carolan, Michael Dameski, Julian DeGuzman, Nico DeJesus, JP Ferreri, Sky Flaherty, Kaitlyn Frank, Michael Gorman, Stephen Hernandez, Meredith Inglesby, James Judy, Eric Scott Kincaid, Beth Stafford Laird, Devin Lewis, Eric Jon Mahlum, Nicholas Masson, Michael J. Rios, Jordan Samuels, Daniel Switzer, Andrew Wilson, Chaz Wolcott, Iain Young and Anthony Zas.

Ticket buyers are reminded that Broadway In Chicago Box Offices and Ticketmaster are the only official retail ticket outlets for all performances of NEWSIES at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. Ticket buyers who purchase tickets from a ticket broker or any third party should be aware that Broadway In Chicago is unable to reprint or replace lost or stolen tickets and is unable to contact patrons with information regarding time changes or other pertinent updates regarding the performance.

NEWSIES, the new American musical, features a Tony Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, a book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein and is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, NEWSIES is directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award for his work. The entire creative team has reunited to bring the break-out smash musical to audiences across North America.

When it opened on March 29, 2012, NEWSIES was intended for a Broadway run of just 101 performances. The show's fiercely devoted fans had other ideas, however; they propelled the show to a run of 1005 performances, attendance of more than 1 million and a gross of over $100M.

While on Broadway, NEWSIES set and broke seven Nederlander Theatre house records and became the highest-grossing show from the 2011-12 Broadway season. The show received 23 major theatrical nominations - including eight Tony Award nods - and won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Score and Choreography.

Set in New York City at the turn of the century, NEWSIES is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged 'newsies,' who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys' expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies newsies from across the city to strike for what's right.

NEWSIES is inspired by the real-life 'Newsboy Strike of 1899,' when newsboy Kid Blink led a band of orphan and runaway newsies on a two-week-long action against Pulitzer, Hearst and other powerful newspaper publishers.

The stage version introduces seven brand-new songs by the original team of Menken and Feldman, including a song written specifically for the tour called 'Letter from the Refuge,' while keeping many of the beloved songs from the film, including 'Carrying the Banner, 'Seize the Day,' 'King of New York' and 'Santa Fe.'

Since the film's 1992 theatrical release and subsequent DVD release, NEWSIES has grown into a cult phenomenon, and for years had been the single most requested title of all the Disney musical films not yet adapted for the stage. (The film featured a screenplay by Bob Tzudiker & Noni White (Tarzan, 102 Dalmatians).)

For more information, visit NewsiesTheMusical.com, Facebook.com/Newsies and Twitter.com/Newsies.

Tickets for Disney's NEWSIES at the Cadillac Palace Theatre are on sale now. A select number of premium tickets are available for many performances. Group tickets for 10 or more are available by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St., 18 W. Monroe St. and 175 E. Chestnut), the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000, all Ticketmaster retail locations and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

For a complete performance schedule, please visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 16 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining well up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago's Loop including its newly named The PrivateBank Theatre, the Oriental Theatre, Cadillac Palace Theatre, the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place.

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