Extra, extra! Read all about it! I’d love to see Jack Kelly from Newsies (2012.) portrayed with a stutter!
A brief rundown: Jack Kelly is the unofficial leader of the newsies, a group of orphaned newsboys who find themselves staring down Goliath when they initiate a strike against Joseph Pulitzer (and his abuse of the press/unfair labor). At the forefront of these raucous developments is Jack, our heavy New-York accented protagonist. From a distance, he appears to be a rag-tagging caricature of urban youth. But there are numerous levels to Jack. Going far beyond an evident sheen of grime and sweat. (Although, he’s a paperboy from the 1800s, so like, do the math).
We’re introduced to Jack as a 17-year-old who has fallen into a de-facto father role for his friends turned family. Behind his brash charisma, there exists a simmering yearning for a better life out West. Jack’s natural proclivity is not to mindlessly work for the man, but rather to illustrate his own artwork. (Wow, is Jack Kelly symbolic of every former theatre major in 2020 or what?)This creates a compelling conflict in Jack, who feels his calling might be something other than what so many call upon him to do.
So, uh, how the heck would stuttering take Jack Kelly to the next level as a character, you ask?
A few months ago I wrote a similar post on why Dear Evan Hansen ( 2016.) should incorporate a stutter into its title character. But I understand that might seem like a more appropriate example to elaborate on. It’s probably easier to picture a social outcast stuttering than it would be a seemingly confident, smartass paperboy. But doesn’t that make the possibilities in store for Jack all the more interesting?
The point isn’t to change his outward personality/goals/desires. My goal is to give an example of how the complexities of the character can be broadened through the inclusion of a stutter. Especially if somebody with a speech impediment were to be given the chance to portray him! In a way, this is all about us stutterers taking some of our power back! Striving to feel like we deserve to bring our unique perspectives into the parts that we play.
Got it? Let’s dive a little deeper then!
Creating New Headlines With A Stutter
Channeling inner Newsie levels of bluntness, having a stutter is damn tiring!
A complementary trait for Jack Kelly, who, despite his outward charms, is actually way too exhausted for his own good. Running with this, a stuttering Jack might subconsciously feel inclined to present himself, at least vocally, in a very specific kind of way. Perhaps the always-moving lifestyle of a newsboy has provided him the opportunity to adopt a rhythmic way of speaking. One that helps him maintain his cool and distracts him from thinking about his stutter. This constant devotion to an exaggerated version of himself could prove to be more tiring than even Jack, himself, is able to fully come to terms with. He likely wouldn’t even want to confront those truths in the first place. The character is naturally stubborn in his ways, so having a stutter would only take that side of him further.
Furthermore, maybe this rendition of Jack only sounds confident because that’s how he wants to see himself. Through the eyes of his peers, he is already seen as a leader of (young) men, so it’s no stretch of the imagination to think that he would feel pressured to hold strong in that position.
It’s also safe to say that Jack might see his speech impediment as a potential foil to the wellbeing of his crew, a fear that would run parallel to the newsie rebellion against Pulitzer. When you have subsets of the same type of conflict simultaneously going down during a story, it raises the stakes for all parties involved. So, Jack’s personal stress would be represented by his incessant efforts to gain better working conditions for his fellow street hawkers.
Who’s to say that, at least a part of that stress couldn’t be triggered by the concealing of his stutter?
When the newsies suffer their first major defeat at the end of the first act, Jack’s reaction is shown to be up and running to Santa Fe. After fighting repeatedly on behalf of his principals, the moment he feels he has failed his friends, it becomes too much to bear. Not wanting his shame exposed to those close to him, he opts for isolation. These moments when Jack is stripped bare of his resolve would provide his stutter an opportunity to come out full-fledged. Indicative of his not being able to speak candidly until emotionally distanced from all other influences. Equal parts freeing and bittersweet in just how much pain it took to get to this point.
Jack’s vulnerability spills out over time, seen mostly in interactions with his love interest, Katherine Plummer. Their scenes evolve from aggressively flirtatious banter(on Jack’s end) to meaningful, shared exchanges of genuine admissions. In the end, she is the one who coaxes him off a ledge of solitude. All it takes is her expressing the faith she has in him. It’s a simple enough gesture of care, but it contains unspoken importance for Jack. And I think it would be enough to get him to stutter shamelessly around her. Katherine and Jack’s relationship gives the inclusion of a stutter more of a complete arc. It is Katherine who, despite their social differences, gives Jack (and his hypothetical stutter) a soft place to comfortably land. Void of the judgment Jack gives to himself.
When Jack ultimately makes the choice to stay in New York, it should be seen as a sign of self-compassion. An agreement to meld together all of the wisecracks, stutters, and truths that make him up from the inside out.
Something We Can All Relate To.
Say it were me playing Jack, besides having to learn proper control of my two left feet, I would lean heavily into the fear of being compromised by my stutter. We all experience feeling like there are parts of ourselves best kept muted. Not only for our own personal good but sometimes for the sake of those who depend on us most. For Jack, we know that to be fellow orphans starving for the same better future that he wants.
In my life, anxiety occasionally plagues me as an educator. I can’t begin to describe the worry I’ve been overtaken with from stuttering in front of my students. If I’m relative to Jack, then they’re pretty much my equivalent of the newsies. Other priorities tend to take a back seat when it comes to providing these children with quality guidance. It’s also true that when I think of my speech as a threat to my progress, cyclically it becomes a threat to theirs, too.
Just like it would a stuttering Jack’s if he were to let it.
In Jack’s case, he can either choose to keep living with a chip (or chips) on his shoulder, or he can work at sharing his troubles with others, in an effort to eventually shrug them off. In the end, he makes the healthy choice to not flee from his setbacks. Remaining loyal to those who love him in spite of them. And it benefits him in ways that leave his story on notes of newfound hope for the future. The inclusion of speech struggles, while likely surprising to some, could add a little intricate, emotional garnish to Newsies productions.
All I’m saying is that, hypothetically speaking, if Jack Kelly were to have a stutter, his character progression might have an even bigger chance at making the front page.
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