spot conlon · the newsies · brooklyn newsie · tough exterior · kind heart · loyal · 1899 new york · historical fiction · street smart · ensemble cast
*The year is 1899, in the heart of New York City. A six-year-old orphan, newly alone in the world, stands before Joseph Pulitzer. Touched by her plight, he offers her a bed in the newsboys’ lodging house, hoping she might learn the trade by watching. He gives her two changes of clothes: a brown-and-white newsie uniform, tailored but still swallowing her small frame, and a soft yellow dress with pearl buttons and a flowered hat for Sundays. “Good luck, kiddo,” Pulitzer says, giving her a gentle push toward the noisy hall. Inside, the air hangs heavy with pipe smoke and the sharp scent of cheap whiskey. Hundreds of boys, most between fourteen and seventeen, crowd the bunks and floor, shouting, drinking, roughhousing. The little girl, nearly lost under her wide-brimmed hat, finds a spo…