The pulse of a historic labor strike is set to rhythmically beat through a historic Indianapolis theater as Footlite Musicals presents the Tony Award-winning show “Newsies.” The production, which opens Friday at the Hedback Theatre, weaves a tale of underdog resilience that resonates deeply with one of its cast members, a local journalist. This reporter finds her professional and personal passions colliding in a uniquely poetic way.
The musical, based on the 1992 Disney film and the real Newsboy Strike of 1899, follows a group of orphaned and impoverished newspaper hawkers in New York City. When publishing magnates Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise the wholesale price of newspapers, the children who sell them are forced to shoulder the burden.
“In order to make more money, they decided to raise the price of newspapers,” explained Chloe McGowan, the Arts & Culture reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder who is starring in the production. “The idea is that headlines don’t sell newspapers, newsies sell papers… so they raised the price of papers another 10 cents per 100. So, you have to sell 25 more papers a day to make the same amount as always.”
McGowan’s full-circle moment
The newsboys’ protest, which blossomed into a city-wide “children’s crusade” for fair wages and working conditions, is driven by an energetic, Academy Award-winning score by Alan Menken. McGowan describes the show as “an uplifting, fun story” that is “historical, timely, and it’s got some really great music.”
Adding a layer of rich historical context to her role, McGowan plays Medda Larkin, a charismatic burlesque club owner offering sanctuary to the striking newsies. The character is based on a real-life figure named Aida Overton-Walker.
“She was known as the Queen of the Cakewalk,” McGowan said. “She basically pioneered Vaudeville as a Black woman. It’s kind of cool to see that Disney found a way to bring another historical Black woman to life on the stage in this way … She’s a diva, she’s glitzy, she’s glamorous … it’s really fun getting to kind of take on a role like that.”
The production creates a profound full-circle moment for McGowan, whose love for the musical predates her career in journalism. She credits the character of Katherine Plumber, an ambitious reporter in the show, with helping spark her own professional aspirations.
“Newsies has always been like one of my favorite shows,” McGowan said. “When I first saw this show, it was kind of what kickstarted my dream of being a journalist. She [Katherine] started out as an arts reporter… and I just kind of always admired that. Like, there’s more than one way to use the press to help people.”
More about Disney’s “Newsies”
Now, McGowan finds herself stepping away from her reporter’s notebook, inhabiting the world she once only observed from the audience.
“I go home from being a reporter to being in a show where I am not a reporter, ironically, and I think that’s beautiful,” McGowan said. “It’s a beautiful moment for me to be able to do this … it’s a moment checked off my bucket list.”
The local production is a labor of love, with the cast and crew volunteering their time. The stage itself will be authentically littered with newspapers, thanks to donations from local publications including the Indianapolis Recorder — which was founded in 1895, just four years before the real-life strike.
“The goal is to have as many papers as we could because we’re dancing on these papers,” McGowan said. “These papers are being tossed around on stage.”
For McGowan, the show’s message extends beyond entertainment. In an era of heightened skepticism toward the media, “Newsies” serves as a potent reminder of the press’s foundational role in amplifying the voices of the marginalized.
“I hope there’s a renewed appreciation for what journalists do,” McGowan said. “I know in the past couple of years there’s been a real stigma against the press … but being reminded, the people in journalism, they still found a way to have those stories told.”
“Newsies” runs Nov. 21 – Dec. 14 (only Fridays-Sundays) at the Hedback Theatre located at 1847 Alabama St. For tickets, click here.
As McGowan puts it, the production is a unique community endeavor: “There’s just so much love in this performance… You won’t get a performance like this anywhere else.”
For more news, visit indianapolisrecorder.com.
