Deerfield-Windsor to bring ‘Newsies’ to Albany Municipal Auditorium

ALBANY — Historically, it’s always been a chore to find high school students willing to give up their free time to perform in their school’s plays.

At Deerfield-Windsor School in Albany, where just about every student is involved in two, three, four or even more extracurricular activities, theater program director Lindsey Stewart has a tough time helping students just find enough hours in their day to prepare for the school’s productions.

But, like her mom, Dianne Giddens, before her, who held the position she has held for the past eight years, Stewart always manages.

“I would feel a lot better about our production coming up if we didn’t have a week of spring break thrown into the mix right here before the show starts,” Stewart said as 26 of the 29 students cast in D-W’s production of “Newsies” showed up for rehearsal the Friday before spring break kicked off. “But the kids here are flexible, resilient. Plus, all the coaches and the heads of other extracurricular activities understand that the students are involved in activities rather than theirs. They’re very accommodating.”

Stewart said she selected “Newsies” for her troupe’s production after the success of the prep school’s production of “Mary Poppins.”

“I wanted us to have more dance numbers, and this is a great show for that,” she said. “I’m also excited about the opportunity for very flexible casting.”

“Newsies” is a period piece from the turn of the 20th century in which news boys, who delivered newspapers for media tycoons Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, joined together in a fight against injustice when the rich newsmen decided to up the cost they charged the delivery boys for the papers they delivered. Cast members were required to show off their dance moves during auditions.

“Of course, the students had different levels of proficiency, but we try to account for that with the casting,” the director said. “We also had some tap in the play, so we had to find the right people for those parts.”

Lead performer Michael Collins, who plays Jack Kelly, is new to Deerfield-Windsor this year, so this will be his debut with the school’s productions. But he said he’s “found his groove” working in rehearsal time around a schedule that includes preparing for the 800, 4×800, 4×400 and pole vault events for the D-W track team.

“I’d done some theater before (coming to D-W), so I saw this as an opportunity to do something fun and memorable,” said Collins, who is a senior. “I’d never done any dancing on stage, so this was definitely an intimidating role when you consider that I’m in 95% of the scenes.

“(Participating in several activities simultaneously) is something you have to work hard to prepare for. You can’t just give your 100%; you literally have to give 110% where you focus your mind on what your doing.”

Collins said he has been awarded a scholarship at Gulf Coast Community College in Florida, where he plans to study criminal justice in preparation for a future with the FBI.

Senior Carter Mallow plays Catherine Plummer in “Newsies,” and this is her third role at D-W.

“I’m on the soccer team, so I try to balance things out by studying my lines late at night after practice,” said Mallow, who expects to study Chemistry at North Georgia College. “I’ve been on the dance line at school and I sing at church, so that helps me with this role.”

Fellow Senior Tucker Pollock, who said he is not sure where he will go to college to study broadcast journalism, is the “old pro” in the cast, which includes students in grades six through 12. “Newsies” will be the seventh play he’s performed  in during his time at Deerfield-Windsor. He started work on the play in the middle of the school’s basketball season.

“There are some similarities in preparing for a play and preparing to compete in athletics,” Pollock said. “I’ve gotten used to being involved in multiple things during my time here. It’s hard for me to believe this is my last play; it just doesn’t seem real when you’re in the heat of it. But when you back off and look at it — look at all the stuff mom has posted on Facebook — it’s just a little surreal.”

The Deerfield-Windsor production will be held at the Albany Municipal Auditorium this weekend. Show times will be 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and the Sunday matinee will start at 2 p.m.

Staff Photo: Carlton FletcherStaff Photo: Carlton Fletcher

Staff Photo: Carlton Fletcher