Just a few weekends ago, three Montrosians performed in Xaverian Brothers’ fall production of Newsies — an exciting musical chock-full with catchy lyrics and swing. Undoubtedly, stunning songs from the show like “Seize the Day” and “King of New York” are still ringing in the heads of those who went to watch the performance.

Since the beginning of the school year, these three girls spent hours at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, MA preparing for opening night. They auditioned alongside many other students from schools in the area, and earned their roles in the show. 

Andy Rodriguez-Gomez ‘21 and Stefani sisters Lucy ‘21 and Chloe ‘24 performed with stunning grace and volume. Many Montrosians attended opening night to watch the show and agreed that each of the girls exhibited a clear sense of confidence and love for the performing arts on stage.

“Leading up to the show, we ran the show everyday for two straight weeks, which got tedious. I feel like the energy and enthusiasm of the cast definitely helped us all stay motivated and focused,” said Lucy Stefani ‘21. She was not the only one to note the energy of the cast and crew involved. Andy Rodriguez-Gomez ‘21, who played the lead role of Medda Larkin, also made similar observations: “Everyone in the cast was so supportive. For the first two weeks, I hardly talked to anyone else in the cast. Then, one day, I decided to reach out, and immediately, I made such good friends. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming to me, and I learned so much about confidence.”

Additionally, or three Montrosians decided to join the Newsies cast with completely different experience levels. Chloe Stefani ‘24 has been a part of multiple theater shows before, including Montrose’s Mary Poppins last spring. For Lucy Stefani ‘21, a seasoned thespian and cantor for mass at Montrose, Newsies was her 30th production! Lucy said: “I’d never seen so much buzz over a show before. At both Xaverian and Montrose, there was so much excitement which made for a really great and supportive audience.” Lastly, for Andy Rodriguez-Gomez ‘21, a talented opera singer and also a Montrose cantor, Newsies was her first ever drama production. Nonetheless, she brought the brightest of smiles to her solo performance of “That’s Rich.”

Montrose is proud of Chloe, Lucy, and Andy for their performance in Newsies — they certainly represented our school beautifully. Thankfully, we may be seeing their faces at Xaverian productions in the future. As Lucy said: “I had such a great experience working with the cast and crew of Newsies, so I’m planning on doing the spring play at Xaverian.”