The Newsies

N1: In 1898, there were no radios, TVs, or computers.

N2: Newspapers were the only way to find out what was going on in the world. 

N3: New York’s two big papers were the World and the Journal. 

N1: Every day, these papers were sold on the street by kids called “newsies.” 

N2: Newsies worked from early morning to late at night. 

N3: They were poor and often homeless. 

N1: Newsies worked to feed themselves and their families. 

N2: When newspaper owners stopped treating them fairly—

CROWD: —the newsies stood up for their rights.

A newspaper office, New York City, April 1898

ANI: Is this where you sign up? 

N3: The newsies look her over. 

ROSE: Why ain’t you at school? 

ANI: I have to help my family.

Sully: Don’t we all. 

Ani: How do I sell these?

BOOTS: You buy two newspapers for a penny, but sell them for a penny apiece.

ROSE: You double your money. 

N1: Boots goes to the window. 

MANAGER: How many?

BOOTS: I’ll take 100.

N2: Boots hands over 50 cents. 

MANAGER: Sorry, kid. Price for 100 papers is now 60 cents. 

BOOTS: I won’t earn as much! 

MANAGER: But these papers will sell like hotcakes. Look at the headline: America Declares War! 

BOOTS: Then give me 200!

N3: Ani and Rose buy some too.

Later that day

BOOTS: These’ll be easy to sell.

ANI: How do you know?

ROSE: Cuz the news is good. 

BOOTS (shouting): Hot off the press! America at war! 

ANI: How is war good news? 

ROSE: It’s good news for us. Boring news doesn’t sell papers. 

BOOTS: Get your papers here! War with Spain! 

MAN 1: War? I’ll buy one.

N1: Another person walks up.

WOMAN: I’ll take two!

N2: In just a few minutes, Boots sells a dozen papers. 

ROSE: Now you try, Ani. 

ANI: Read all about it! War with Spain!

WORKER 1: I’ll take one. 

ANI: Here you go.

July 1899

N3: The war has ended. 

N1: The newsies stand on a street corner. People walk past.

ANI: No one’s buying papers.

BOOTS: There’s no more war. 

ROSE: People don’t care when the big news is a cat up a tree.  

BOOTS: I’m callin’ it quits.

ANI: I still have 40 papers left. If I stop now, I’ll lose money!

ROSE: Sorry, Ani.

N2: Ani stands alone on the street. No one buys her papers.

The next morning

N3: Rose and Boots enter a room packed with newsies. 

N1: Sully speaks to the crowd.

SULLY: The newspaper owners said they would drop the price once the war was over. 

CROWD: Yeah!

SULLY: Did they? 

CROWD: No!  

SULLY: The time has come to take a stand. I say we strike! 

CROWD: Strike! Strike! Strike!

SULLY: Stick together. Nobody sells papers. If you see anyone selling papers, tear them up!

A few hours later 

N2: Rose looks for Ani. 

N3: She finds her in an alley.

ROSE: Where have you been?

ANI: I was out all night trying to sell my papers. 

N1: Ani begins to cry. 

ANI: I still have 32 left. 

ROSE: There’s good news, Ani. We’re going on strike.

ANI: We’re going to stop selling papers?

ROSE: Right. We’ll force the newspaper owners to lower our price back to 50 cents. 

ANI: I won’t earn anything!

ROSE: Sometimes you have to give a little up front to get more later.

A week later 

N2: The Journal was owned by William Randolph Hearst. 

N3: Hearst was one of the most powerful men in New York.

HEARST: What’s the story? 

ASSISTANT: The newsies’ strike is hitting us hard. 

HEARST: We’re not selling as many papers?

ASSISTANT: No. Our sales have dropped.

HEARST: I’ve worked too hard to let this paper be ruined by a bunch of brats!

Central Park, August 1899 

N1: Ani and Rose pass out flyers.

ROSE: Is that your stomach growling? When was the last time you ate?

N2: Ani shrugs. Rose hands out another flyer. 

MAN 2 (reading): “Please don’t buy the World or Journal newspapers.” What’s this?

ROSE: We’re on strike. 

N3: The man crumples it up.

ANI: This will never work.

N1: A factory worker passes by and gives them each a penny. 

WORKER 2: Stay strong, kids. 

ANI: Thank you! 

N2: Boots runs up, excited. 

BOOTS: All the newsies have started a protest. Come on!

The Brooklyn Bridge 

N3: Ani, Rose, and Boots join 1,000 children on the bridge. 

N1: Traffic is at a standstill. 

CROWD: Newsies on strike!

SULLY: We demand a fair deal!

N2: A wagon carrying papers tries to get through the crowd.

N3: Newsies swarm the wagon like ants on a hot dog. 

BOOTS: Get those papers! 

N1: The protesters overturn the wagon. They throw papers over the side of the bridge. 

N2: The driver runs off. 

SULLY: You tell Mr. Hearst that we ain’t givin’ up! 

CROWD: Wooo! Woooo! Yeah!

N3: Hearst’s car pulls up. The crowd gets quiet. 

HEARST: Listen up! The papers will cost the same. But if you go back to work, I’ll buy back every paper you don’t sell. 

N1: The children murmur to one another.

ANI: Is that a good deal?

BOOTS: Sure it is. When you can’t sell your papers, you’ll get your money back. 

N2: Ani calls out.

ANI: I like it!

ROSE: Me too!  

SULLY: We’ll take it!

CROWD: Wooooo! Yeah! Yeah! 

Ani: Selling papers saved my family from homelessness. 

ROSE: I got to go to school! 

BOOTS: You’re lucky. I had to work at the docks.

SULLY: Life was still hard.

ANI: But the strike gave us power. It showed us that we had rights— 

BOOTS: —even though we were just kids.

N3: Back then, many children throughout the U.S. worked in unsafe and unfair jobs.

N1: Almost 40 years later, a law was passed to help them.

N2: Today, kids can’t work more than 18 hours during a school week.  

N3: And all children have the right to an education. 

BOOTS: Those laws didn’t pass in our lifetimes. 

ANI: But our bravery helped pave the way.