Francis Howell Indoor Percussion from Francis Howell High School in St. Charles, Missouri proudly presents their 2010 show "We the People are Free." This year's show includes music from the Disney musical, "Newsies" which is based on the New York Newsboys' Strike of 1899. Costumes for the show were inspired by the clothes worn by the newsies; thermal henley-style shirts, knickers, vests, hats and suspenders, the majority of which were purchased at local Goodwill stores. Shoes are custom-made Converse Chuck Taylor high-tops in brown with the word "Freedom" stitched in red on the backs.
Drumline members have been excited about this show since its inception, and actually provided a lot of input as to what they wanted to wear. Some were infatuated with the hats, others were excited about the vests and every one of them was thrilled the day the shoes arrived. We parents think they all look fabulous as "newsies" and we love the fact that each of them is unique.
Our Director, Matt Stewart, came up with the original concept for the large, three-sided props for this show. They went from his imagination to bold reality at the hands of our awesome Prop Master, Rick Heisler and his team of dedicated helpers. These props are completely torn down and re-built for each show, which takes quite a bit of skill and maneuvering. They are stored and transported in custom carts which were also created and built by Mr. Heisler. At the start of the show, all sides of the props are blue, and soon after the audience sees the words Courage, Strength and Bravery appear. The voice over describes various aspects of freedom, and the songs "Carrying the Banner" and "King of New York" provide the foundation upon which the battery moves. As the show progresses, Independence, Justice, Liberty and Power come into view as the group performs "Seize the Day". The final side of our background is the Preamble to The Constitution of the United States - "We the People" - which brings the show to its heartwarming patriotic conclusion.
The basic premise of our show is that Freedom is something that that should never be taken for granted. Freedom of Speech, and Freedom of Assembly were demonstrated by the original Newsies when they struck against the greedy newspapers in New York who tried to silence them. All of the freedoms, as outlined in The Constitution, were set down in this document by our Founding Fathers in order that we might, as a country, understand how important it is that we preserve them in their original intent. The voice overs in "We the People" come from various Presidents throughout history. Most notably, the opener is from Ronald Reagan's farewell speech, in which he described the Revolution from which our country was born. "Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: 'We the people.' 'We the people' tell the government what to do, it doesn't tell us."
In summary, "We the People are Free" is a celebration of all that is good about America and all that we need so desperately to preserve. "Open the gates and seize the day. Don't be afraid and don't delay. Nothing can break us, no on can make us give our rights away. Arise and seize the day!" Something as valuable and precious as freedom is always worth fighting for. It's what the Newsies believed, and it is something for which we, as Americans, should be willing to give our lives.
Francis Howell Viking Bands are Directed by Chris Miller. Drumline Director is Matt Stewart, and Technicians are Mark Ishman, Herrie Pullom and Gerrie Garrett.
