The Pius Players will open their spring musical “Newsies” on Thursday, March 7, and the show runs through Sunday, March 10.

Debuting on Broadway in 2011, “Newsies” is based on the true story of newsboys in 1899 who formed a union and went on strike when Joseph Pulitzer upped the price of newspapers.

Senior Clare Hungeling who plays a burlesque house owner, Medda, said “This musical is so upbeat and intense. It has a great message about sticking it to the man, and some of these dance numbers are going to pop off!”

The show features 54 student cast members, including leading roles from Hungeling and fellow seniors Victoria Gronczewski, Michael Marcinko, Neal Belden, and Blake Buhler; juniors Jamie Martin and Daniel Buckley; and sophomore Julie DiLeo. These lead roles are “double casted,” meaning one set will perform on Thursday and Saturday and the other on Friday and Sunday. 

“The double casting gives the two nights two different interpretations, which has been cool to watch as a director,” theology teacher and assistant director Mrs. Lindsey Farrell said. “Clare Hungeling gives a totally different Medda from tradition, and it’s awesome. It’s like seeing a different show when she comes to life on stage.”

A few musical numbers that audience members should be ready for are “King of New York” and “The World Will Know.”

“‘King of New York’ focuses on when the newsies think they’re all famous because their strike made the front page of The New York Sun,” senior Neal Belden said. “It’s also a huge tap number and me and another student, [junior] Hailey Miller, choreographed it so getting to show off our hard work feels really good.”

Senior Blake Buhler claims, “I’ve been tapping for over a year now in preparation for the show and I can’t wait to perform ‘The World Will Know.’ It gives me chills every time. I feel like the audience will really like it.”

The Pius Players expect that their hard work will finally pay off this weekend after beginning to prepare as early as last spring.

“This is the first time this senior class has had rehearsal every single day after school and weekends for three weeks before the show. We’ve put so much time into it,” Buhler explained.

Hungeling agreed. “Literally all my blood, sweat and tears have gone into this show,” she said. “I’ve been living at this school every single weekend. All of us have really been grinding. We are so ready for Thursday.”