Raggedy and tired, the orphans and homeless children who have to rely on their pay as newsboys and newsgirls wake up to another day. They have to pay for their newspapers first, and if they don’t sell them, they actually lose money. This crooked scheme was cooked up by the wealthy owner of the paper, none other than Joseph Pulitzer. The opening scene shows Jack Kelley (Isabella Kopczynski) and his best pal, Crutchie (Lauren Condor) singing wistfully of their fantasy of going out West and getting away from the grime and corruption of 1890s New York City in “Santa Fe.” Then all the newsies appear, to get their “papes,”and dance and sing admirably in “Carrying the Banner.” They have plenty of spunk.

As they line up to buy or be cheated by “Weasel,” played by Ava Morrison, a new kid, Davey (Cee-Cee Deslaurier-Tate) and his little brother Les (Timothy Condor) approach the line with trepidation. They are not orphans, but their father was injured, and they need to drop out of school for a while to earn some money. Jack strikes a deal with them. The choreography is impressive as they all sing again of carrying the banner. Meanwhile, the stingy Pulitzer (Saachi Chandrakant) conspires with his cronies on ways to make even more money for himself. He greedily decides to raise the price the newsies have to pay for their “papes,” making it even harder for them to earn money. In disgust Jack hides out at Miss Medda’s, (played by Olivia Wiedenmann) painting backdrops for her theater. There is girl power here. Four teenage girls in glamorous dresses dance and sing with Medda about how they are going to bat for the cause and are not just pretty faces. Olivia Wiedenmann has a particularly good voice.

The newsies decide to strike. This turns into one of the most impressive moments of the show. They forcefully sing “The World Will Know,” proclaiming that they’ve been down too long. They form a union. Then a prim looking girl arrives, Katherine Plummer (Acadia King) and wants an exclusive interview of this growing movement for her paper The Sun, the main rival of The World. As she pecks away at her perfectly period typewriter, interviewing Jack, she shows her determination and then sings beautifully about injustice in “Watch What Happens.” Her photographer, Darcy (Ruby Dwyer) has a good voice too, with clear diction and harmony. When it looks like the newsies won’t be able to get the working children of the other boroughs to join them, Davey takes the lead and sings a solo of “Seize the Day,” and is joined by the whole company, with more great dancing and leaps. There are some very impressive cartwheels and gymnastics in this show.

The “bulls” appear to try to grab the leaders of the strike, and do catch Crutchie, who can’t run fast enough with his bum leg, and many others. He’s sent to a juvenile prison called the refuge. Jack hides out at Medda’s, and plaintively sings again of his dream to escape to Santa Fe. But their rally has not gone unnoticed. When Katherine arrives with the front page of The Sun, featuring the striking youngsters “above the fold,” the movement is reinvigorated. Now the kids can sing with gusto “I’m the King of New York.” A particularly good solo in this piece is sung by Race, played by May Shade. Without giving away every detail of the whole story, the plot moves towards a rousing ending with “Brooklyn’s Here.” The children have created a movement that shuts down all the sweatshops and inhumane workplaces where children have been exploited for years. A thrilling victory song is sung by the whole company, “Once and For All.” Jack forces a reasonable compromise with Pulitzer, and when Governor Teddy Roosevelt arrives to congratulate the newsies, the entire cast comes out and belts out “Carrying the Banner.” With over 60 cast members, it made me want to stand and cheer!

Amazingly, this is Prana’s twentieth summer. Yet every show is fresh. Roberta Weiner has kept the level of enthusiasm high every summer. She keeps bringing in new shows, especially with the advent of Disney Jr. productions. With her able accompanist Joanne Hines and music director Joe Duda, expect this troupe to keep cranking out the hits for a very long time.