Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Fresh ink, shocking headlines and unmatched energy! Here at Columbia Heights High School (CHHS), students are turning into newspaper salespeople, going on strike and hitting the stage with this year’s theater department musical, “Newsies”.
Going all the way back to 1899 in New York City, the musical is based on a true historical event that begins with a newsboy named Jack Kelly (played by junior Cole Connolly) who rallies his friends Crutchie (sophomore Daniel James) and Davey (sophomore Ian Zeimet) plus other newsies, a term for children or young adolescents who sell newspapers, to strike. This strike was against a wealthy newspaper publisher who started cutting back on their sales force’s already small wages and raising printing prices. The musical showcases social justice, the amazing power of youth voices and fighting against a corrupt system for fairness.
This inspirational production, which premiered last month in the CHHHS Performing Arts Center (PAC), is all thanks to director and choir teacher Mr. Nicholas Hollerman and assistant director and English Language Arts teacher Ms. Rachel Mann. By motivating student actors and crew members to connect with their characters and roles, they continued to bring together an impressive and memorable show full of song, dance and drama.“We like to give students the freedom to try out new ideas—new reactions, new gestures and blocking, new ways of delivering lines—and then we pro,” Mann said on what’s working (or not working), and give suggestions that ideally help students “level up” their performance each time they’re on stage,” Mann said. “It’s exciting to see students experiment with their roles and take risks in their acting; they consistently surprise us with their creativity and versions of their characters that we didn’t expect.”
Mr. Hollermann oversees the entire production, creating the vision of all creative elements and assigning responsibilities to the directing team. Along with Mann, he helps put that vision into motion within more focused roles, with Mann focusing on dialogue and Hollerman centering music and blocking.
Continuing from last year’s awards, this year, the CHHS theater department received seven honors through the Hennepin Theater Trust Spotlight Education Program. The rewards were given to participants from either the cast or the crew. Having previously received an outstanding honor, Daniela Caizpanta (11) has shown an eye for design and technical precision.
“Rehearsals [were] really fun but stressful since there’s so much to be done in about three weeks before our performances,” Caizpanta said. “It’s nice to work together with the actors and stage crew since we have to be coordinated to have our show run smoothly.”
Rehearsal is rarely ever easy. Performers have to learn and memorize lines, remember stage directions and dance moves. The crew is also multifaceted with numerous responsibilities, from having to play the right song at the right time to making sure the lights are bright or dimmed and centered as well as call the right cue from behind the curtain. They also teach and build confidence and leadership for the younger cast and crew members, but despite the difficulties, nearly everyone who participated agrees it was completely worth the challenges.
“My job is not too difficult—the most challenging thing I do is manage and that’s what I signed up for,” “Newsies” stage manager Azzi Sabatke (11) said. “I am so excited to share all of my cast and crew’s hard work with you all! [I hope the audience] admires all the small details and big moments, because we all worked for so long to make this show good.”
Theater here in Heights is valued a lot by those who audition for roles, apply for backstage crew positions and even the audience who comes out looking for a fun night out or matinee. It brings so many students together to sing, dance and tell stories in a creative and collaborative way. Whether on stage in front of a crowd or not, though, the CHHS program builds lasting friendships and memories.
As acting may be hard by itself, battling with your role and other priorities could be a workload. Several CHHS Theater students continued to push through barriers of other priorities and showcased their performing desire within the production. Ultimately, many were rewarded with honorable mentions and evaluator shout-outs.
“Something that can be challenging about my role in the musical is balancing schoolwork and rehearsals, especially during the long tech and dress weeks,” Daniel James (10) said. “Luckily, I have wonderful teachers who help keep me on track and [provide] some downtime during the show to catch up. Show days are super fun and one thing that gets me hyped to perform is the audience reactions! Getting live feedback each showing really energizes me to give it full energy!”
After each showing, in the lobby outside the doors of the PAC, feedback was given to the cast and crew by loved ones. People from the community talked about their favorite parts and performances. All it took was digging back into a historical labor strike, the honing of confidence and the camaraderie of teammates to put together a fantastic show. So far, Hollerman and Mann have done Dreamworks (“Shrek”) and Disney (“Newsies”), so what might they have up their sleeves for 2026?
