make your newsies people of color. make your newsies women. make your newsies immigrants. make your newsies different ages. make your newsies smart. make your newsies disabled. make your newsies gender diverse. make your newsies have agency. make your newsies strong. the thing about the broadway show that i love so much is that ANYONE can play these characters and still do them justice.
in past productions we’ve had a black jack kelly, a latino jack kelly, a black katherine, an asian david, a racetrack who isn’t always happy go lucky, a crutchie whose actor is a disabled in real life. newsies have been genderswapped because gender doesn’t dictate the character- take uksie’s spot, who is a black woman, for example; spot is the same powerhouse of a character regardless of who’s playing them. these characters are who you make them and you do NOT, and should not, follow the path of making every newsie White Guy #17. this is fiction these are characters you can give them diverse identities! diverse cultures! diverse religions and diverse countries of origin and diverse lived experiences!
also stop making them stupid. for the love of GOD stop making them stupid. maybe most of them don’t have a “formal” education but they’re street smart and quick on their feet and resilient and they should not be reduced down to an accent for shits and giggles. not every newsie has to be a white cisgender man. get real with it. you agree. reblog.
