Dan DeLuca to Star in NEWSIES at the National Theatre This June

Casting has been announced for the Washington engagement of Disney's NEWSIES. The Tony Award-winning smash hit musical will play an exclusive two-week engagement at National Theatre. The production will begin performances June 9 for a limited two-week engagement through June 21.

Tickets are on sale now and start at $48, plus applicable service charges. Tickets are available at the National Theatre box office, online at thenationaldc.com, or by calling (800) 514-3849. A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of best available seats at $25 each - cash only - will be held at the theater two hours before each performance. Orders for groups of twenty (20) or more may be placed by calling (855) 486-2516. For more information, call (202) 628-6161.

The production features Dan DeLuca as "Jack Kelly," Steve Blanchard as "Joseph Pulitzer," Stephanie Styles as "Katherine," Angela Grovey as "Medda Larkin," Jacob Kemp as "Davey," Zachary Sayle as "Crutchie," and Vincent Crocilla and Anthony Rosenthal alternating the role of "Les."

Rounding out the cast are Mark Aldrich, Josh Assor, Evan Autio, Bill Bateman, Josh Burrage, Kevin Carolan, Benjamin Cook, DeMarius Copes, Julian DeGuzman, Nico DeJesus, Sky Flaherty, Michael Gorman, Jon Hacker, Melissa Steadman Hart, Jeff Heimbrock, Stephen Hernandez, Meredith Inglesby, Molly Jobe, James Judy, Eric Jon Mahlum, Michael Ryan, Jordan Samuels, Jack Sippel, Andrew Wilson, and Chaz Wolcott.

NEWSIES, the new American musical, features a Tony Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, and a book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein, and is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions. NEWSIES is directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award for his work. The entire creative team has reunited to bring the break-out smash musical to audiences across North America.

When it opened on March 29, 2012, NEWSIES was intended for a Broadway run of just 101 performances. The show's fiercely devoted fans had other ideas, however; they propelled the show to a run of 1005 performances, attendance of more than 1 million, and a gross of over $100 million.

While on Broadway, NEWSIES set and broke seven Nederlander Theatre house records and became the highest-grossing show from the 2011-12 Broadway season. The show received 23 major theatrical nominations - including eight Tony Award nods - and won Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Score and Choreography.

Set in New York City at the turn of the century, NEWSIES is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged "newsies," who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys' expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and ralliesnewsies from across the city to strike for what's right.

NEWSIES is inspired by the real-life "Newsboy Strike of 1899," when newsboy Kid Blink led a band of orphan and runaway newsies on a two-week-long action against Pulitzer, Hearst, and other powerful newspaper publishers.

The stage version introduces seven brand-new songs by the original team of Menken and Feldman while keeping many of the beloved songs from the film, including "Carrying the Banner," "Seize the Day," "King of New York," and "Santa Fe."

Since the film's 1992 theatrical release and subsequent DVD release, NEWSIES has grown into a cult phenomenon, and for years had been the single most requested title of all the Disney musical films not yet adapted for the stage. (The film featured a screenplay by Bob Tzudiker & Noni White (Tarzan, 102 Dalmatians).)

Located at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, the National Theatre opened in 1835 and is one of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the nation. Over the years, the National has hosted a multitude of memorable events, including the pre-Broadway presentations of the musicals Show Boat; Hello, Dolly!; and West Side Story. Many of the world's greatest performers have graced the National Theatre stage including Robert Redford, George C. Scott, Will Rogers, Helen Hayes, James Earl Jones, Eartha Kitt, Sir Laurence Olivier, Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno, Katherine Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Ian McKellen, Debbie Reynolds, and Audrey Hepburn. National Theatre Group, a partnership between Jam Theatricals, Ltd. and SMG, oversees the programming for and management of the theater.

For more information, visit thenationaldc.com or NewsiesTheMusical.com/Tour.

Need more Washington, DC Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...