Newsies:
Audition Brief
Entr'acte are delighted to present Disney's Newsies, running in the O'Reilly Theatre from 17th-20th February 2027.
Director & Movement Director: Gavin Murphy
Musical Director: Ben Cully
Choreographer: Leah Meagher
Inspired by the real-life Newsboys Strike of 1899 and adapted from the 1992 Disney film, Newsies follows a group of young newspaper sellers in New York City as they stand up to powerful publishers and fight for fairer working conditions. Audition applications are now open! Read on for an overview of the audition process, and a character breakdown...
Audition Information
Auditions for Newsies are open to all Entr'acte members. Not a member yet? Visit our membership page.
The first round of auditions for Newsies will take place via self tape submission and a group ensemble/dance audition. Dance auditions will take place in UCD Student Centre on 22nd and 23rd August. The closing date for audition applications and self-tape submission is 9pm on Sunday, 16th August. Callbacks will take place on 5th and 6th September. There is an audition fee of €10.
Rehearsals will generally take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and on Sundays from mid-morning through to late afternoon/evening. Please only audition if you can commit to the rehearsal process!
Ensemble/Dance audition:
Newsies is a highly physical production, and many tracks involve significant movement, choreography, and stamina.Please note that the dance requirements listed in the character breakdown below are the minimum expected for each role.
The in-person sessions will be an ensemble dance, group acting and movement call. There is no specific preparation required. Auditionees should wear comfortable clothing, bring water with you, and arrive ready to participate! The dance audition will last approximately two hours.
Self tape:
Once you submit the audition form, you will receive an email with a link to a separate form where you can submit your self-tape. For first-round auditions, auditionees do not need to prepare a song from Newsies. Please prepare something in a similar musical-theatre style that shows off your voice and suits the role for which you would like to be considered. For example, anyone interested in Jack Kelly should choose something that showcases a strong high belt. Specific Newsies material may be requested at callbacks.
The ensemble vocal writing in Newsies is predominantly tenor-leaning, with much of the material sitting approximately between C3 and A4, and frequently centring around the upper middle tenor/baritone register. However, this material is accessible to many altos and female singers with developed lower registers, provided they can produce a bright, forward musical-theatre choral sound. Overall, the ensemble should read vocally as a group of Newsies while remaining open to a wide range of singers.
Newsies: Character Breakdown
Please pay particular attention to the playing age, dance and vocal range requirements of the roles for which you would like to be considered when filling out the audition form. The characters have been listed in order of the anticipated size of their track in the show.
Character | Gender Presentation | Playing Age | Vocal Range Required | Dance Requirement | Character Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jack Kelly | Male | Young adult | Bb2–A4 | Mover | The charismatic leader of the Manhattan Newsies. Jack is an orphaned dreamer and artist who longs for a better life out West. He is fiercely protective of Crutchie, loyal to the Newsies, tough on the outside, but capable of real vulnerability. Requires a strong pop tenor voice and physicality.
|
Katherine Plumber | Female | Young adult | A3–F5 | Tap/Mover | An ambitious young reporter trying to be taken seriously as a journalist. Katherine is quick, funny, resourceful, and boldly captures the voice of the Newsies’ strike. Requires a strong contemporary pop voice with high belt and clear diction. |
Crutchie | Any | Young adult | C3–A4 | Minimal | A dedicated Newsie with who walks with a crutch but does not let it define them. Crutchie is goofy, sweet, optimistic, resilient, and the heart of the resistance. Crutchie will still be included in dance numbers and will be part of the choreography. |
Davey | Male | Young adult | D3–A4 | Mover | Les’s straight-laced, bright older brother. Davey begins selling papers to help his family, but becomes central to the strike. He is thoughtful, principled, and the brains of the resistance. |
Joseph Pulitzer | Male | Adult | C3–F4 | N/A | A pompous businessman and owner of the World. Pulitzer is focused on profit and the bottom line. He is Katherine’s father, unsympathetic to the strikers at first, but eventually develops a grudging respect for Jack. |
Medda Larkin | Female/
Non-binary | Adult | F3–E5 | Mover | A big-voiced saloon singer and star of the Bowery. Medda offers their theatre as a safe haven for the newsies. They are comic, confident, astute, and firmly support the Newsies’ fight for justice |
Race | Male | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | A veteran of the lodging house and never without his cigar. Race is loud, funny, hugely confident, and really looks up to Jack. This is the largest supporting Newsie track in the show. |
Finch | Any | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | A streetwise, bold Newsie who ran away from home young and lives with the other Newsies. Finch is proud to be a Newsie, enjoys a laugh at Jacobi’s, practises with a slingshot, and knows exactly what it takes to sell a pape |
Albert | Male | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | Lives with his father and two older brothers after his mother died. Albert is a prankster who loves winding up the other Newsies, but is fiercely loyal when it counts. |
Romeo | Male | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | The flirt of the Newsies. Romeo is always trying his luck with the ladies, regardless of whether it works. |
Henry | Male | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | Left his family’s deli after his father died. Henry is initially sceptical of Jack’s strike but fully commits once convinced. A real food lover whose dream is pastrami on rye with a pickle. |
Mush | Male | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | Thinks of himself as Jack’s muscle and confidant. Mush is tough on the outside but actually quite soft-hearted and easily frightened. Dreams of opening the best juke joint in New York. |
Specs | Any | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | Sweet, slightly nerdy, and one of the more easy-going Newsies. Specs dreams of inventing something to help visually impaired Newsies and really admires Jack. |
Jo Jo | Any | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | Raised by nuns in Harlem. Jo Jo is mischievous despite a sunny personality and dreams of becoming the richest Newsie in town. |
Elmer | Male | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | The youngest of nine children. Elmer loves jokes, especially at his own expense, runs the Newsies’ dice game, and is an ideal spoon percussionist. Easy-going but steps up when needed. |
Buttons | Any | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | Earned the nickname after losing all the buttons from his vest selling papers. Buttons loves sewing and playing rhythms with spoons/utensils. Ideally a percussionist, physically strong, and playful. |
Tommy Boy | Male | Young adult | TBC | Strong dance ability | One of the newest members of the Newsies, Tommy Boy is quiet, shy and still finding his place within the group but kind-hearted and loyal natured beneath his uncertainty. Innocent and literal-minded, Tommy Boy often misunderstands figures of speech. |
Ike | Any | Young adult | TBC | Advanced dance ability | Core dance-focused Newsie ensemble track. No dialogue.. |
Mike/Mikey | Any | Young adult | TBC | Advanced dance ability | Core dance-focused Newsie ensemble track. No dialogue. |
Splasher | Any | Young adult | TBC | Advanced dance ability | Core dance-focused Newsie ensemble track. No dialogue. |
Spot Conlon | Any | Young adult | TBC | Mover | The proud leader of the Brooklyn Newsies. Spot has an intimidating reputation and a short singing solo in “Brooklyn’s Here”. |
Seitz | Any | Adult | TBC | N/A | Pulitzer’s editor. Seitz advises Pulitzer but ultimately admires the kids’ newspaper. Sings in “The Bottom Line” |
Bunsen | Any | Adult | TBC | N/A | Pulitzer’s bookkeeper. Bunsen comes up with the idea to raise the Newsies’ price per paper. Sings in “The Bottom Line”. |
Hannah | Female | Young Adult/Adult | TBC | N/A | Pulitzer’s practical and insightful secretary. Sings in “The Bottom Line”. |
Wiesel | Male | Adult | TBC | Minimal | Wiesel, or “Weasel,” runs the distribution window for “The World”. |
Mayor | Male | Adult | TBC | Minimal | The Mayor of New York City rebuffs Pulitzer’s attempts to shut down the Newsies’ strike. |
Oscar Delancey | Male | Young Adult/Adult | TBC | Minimal | One of the Delancey brothers who works at the distribution window for “The World”. They side with the publishers and are known to use their fists to make a point. |
Morris Delancey | Male | Young Adult/Adult | TBC | Minimal | One of the Delancey brothers who works at the distribution window for “The World”. They side with the publishers and are known to use their fists to make a point. |
Snyder | Any | Adult | TBC | Minimal | The crooked and sinister warden of The Refuge, a filthy orphanage. Snyder is concerned only with catching enough kids to keep government checks coming. |
Nunzio | Male | Adult | TBC | N/A | Nunzio is Pullitzer’s barber. |
Governer Roosevelt | Male | Adult | TBC | N/A | A well-respected lifelong public servant, inspires Jack to stand up to Pulitzer. |
Mr Jacobi | Any | Adult | TBC | N/A | Allows the newsies to congregate in his restaurant to plan their strike – when he doesn’t have any paying customers, that is. |
Stage Manager | Any | Adult | TBC | N/A | Introduces Medda’s act. |
If you have any questions about your Newsies audition, please contact our assistant producer, Sadbh, at entractenewsies@gmail.com.
Ready to book your audition?