Katherine Plumber

Kara Lindsay as Katherine in Newsies Live

## Summary

Katherine Pulitzer is a stage-musical-only character who replaces, in some way, the characters of Bryan Denton and Sarah Jacobs. She is the journalist who helps with the Newsie strike and the love interest for Jack Kelly.

## Musical Biography

### Act One

Katherine makes a brief first appearance during Carrying The Banner, arm in arm with Darcy. She has a brief conversation with Jack, shutting down his flirtatious advances ("I've got a headline for you! Cheeky Boy Gets Nothing For His Troubles!") before walking offstage.

She doesn't appear again until the scene in Medda's theatre, where she is 'reviewing the show for the New York Sun'. She is on stage for the entirety of That's Rich, but her first interaction is just after, another conversation with Jack. Like in Carrying The Banner, Jack continues to flirt with her, and she continues to shut him down.

She appears next just after The World Will Know, in Jacobi's Deli. Here, we see that she is tracking the story of the Newsie Strike ("The only thing I'm following is a story."). Jack then invites her to 'come to the circulation gate tomorrow morning,' telling her to bring her camera, because she's 'gonna want to snap a picture of this'.

Katherine and Jack have another conversation after the reprise of The World Will Know, where Katherine introduces herself under her byline, Katherine Plumber. Jack tries yet again to flirt with her, but Katherine resolutely ignores him and continues interviewing him. Jack reluctantly answers the questions and they part ways, Jack telling her to 'write it good'.

Katherine's solo song, Watch What Happens, takes place now. She sings about how she hopes to make a difference and change the world for the better by helping the Newsie strike gain publicity. This song also shows the beginning of her attraction to Jack, ("What a face...") although she still doesn't much like him, she briefly admits that she finds him physically attractive.

Katherine is absent for most of Seize The Day, but she appears at the end with a cameraman, taking a picture of the Newsies. She is also in the scene immediately after, helping Specs to hide.

### Act Two

Katherine appears a few minutes into the second act. She enters Jacobi's Deli with a copy of the New York Sun, cheering up the boys with the news that they are front-page news. She joins in the celebratory number, King of New York.

Katherine is then not seen until a few minutes into the second scene in Medda's theatre, entering with Les. We learn that Pulitzer has had her 'blacklisted from every newsdesk in town'. She is seen comforting Les after Jack reveals that Crutchie may not survive his time in the Refuge. She also joins in the song Watch What Happens(Reprise).

The scene then changes to Katherine sitting in on what is presumably a meeting between Warden Snyder, the Mayor and her father. At one point in the meeting, Hannah bursts in, announcing that 'the boy, Jack Kelly, is here'. Katherine, who up to this point has been sitting, stands in surprise and horror. Her father orders her back into the chair before turning it around, so that neither the audience or Jack can see her. Several minutes into Jack and Pulitzer's meeting, Jack references Katherine. Pulitzer takes this opportunity to reveal her as his daughter, Katherine turning her chair around sheepishly. She tries to appeal to Jack, but he won't hear it.

Katherine's next appearance is directly after the rally, in Jack's 'penthouse'. She and Jack argue, Jack being furious that Katherine would lie, and Kathrine defending herself, claiming her 'father has eyes on every corner of [the] city, he does not need [her] spying for him'. Jack tells her that if she were a boy, she'd be trying to talk with a fist in her mouth. Katherine defends herself more before firing back, telling him that if she were a boy, he'd be looking at her through 'one swollen eye'. Jack tells her to give it her best shot. Katherine, instead of punching him, kisses him.

Katherine tells Jack that she knows what to do now - she has a plan. She tells him about the Children's Crusade, a movement idea that comes with a printed paper. She wants to distribute the paper to every working kid in the city, telling them all to come to Newsie Square as a general city-wide strike. Jack agrees to this idea, having the idea to use the press in Pulitzer's basement. Katherine is delighted and begins to leave, but Jack calls her back, confused about what's happening between them.

Katherine opens the duet Something To Believe in, their love ballad. This is where Katherine and Jack both properly talk about their feelings for each other.

The scene then shifts to the basement. Katherine has the keys to the building, thanks to the janitor. She introduces Jack to Darcy(who's father owns the newspaper 'The Trib') and Bill (whose father owns the Sun), who help them print the paper.

The song Once And For All begins, Katherine singing part of the introduction before disappearing a few minutes into the song, since she has 'a very important man to see'.

This next part is entirely inferences, as it happens offstage. It can be assumed that Katherine goes to Medda's theatre and fills her in on the plan. Medda presumably then takes her to the office of governor Teddy Roosevelt, to whom she shows Jack's drawings of the Refuge.

Katherine re-enters the stage with Medda and the governor halfway through Jack, Spot and Davey's meeting with Pulitzer, where Teddy Roosevelt announces that Pulitzer will roll prices back or else (although not in those exact words). Katherine, along with everyone but Jack and Pulitzer, leaves the stage for Jack and Pulitzer's meeting.

After the meeting, the scene shifts to the circulation gate, where Katherine stands next to Medda, in front of the Newsies. Here, Jack announces that they have won the strike.

After more announcements, including Crutchie's return, the finale begins. Davey tries initially to get Jack to stay, and Katherine and Crutchie quickly back him up. Katherine and Jack talk more, Katherine reminding him that, wherever he goes, she's 'right there beside [him]'. The two kiss once again, much to delight and cheering of the Newsies. They laugh, and Jack leaves to pay for his papers.

Katherine sings and dances in the Finale, which is mostly a reprise of King of New York. In Newsies Live, Jack twirls her in and she gives him one last peck on the lips before bows.

## Relationships

### Family

#### Joseph Pulitzer - Father

Pulitzer offered Katherine a life of 'wealth and leisure', but Katherine turned him down, wanting to pursue a career in journalism instead. It is likely, since Katherine does not write for the World and Pulitzer probably doesn't approve of Jack, that their relationship has a small strain on it.

### Romantic

#### Jack Kelly

Although Katherine seems to dislike the boy at the beginning of the show, turning down his advances at every opportunity, she grows to have feelings for him. In Watch What Happens, we see some conflicted feelings for him, 'what a face', versus 'son of a-'.

### Platonic

#### Darcy

Katherine and Darcy are seen arm in arm at the opening of the musical, during Carrying The Banner, when Katherine rejects Jack's flirting for the first time. He is also one of the two people she recruits to help with printing the Children's Crusade, showing that she trusts him enough to know that he won't go to either of their fathers about it.

#### Bill

Katherine and Bill only interact briefly, him being the other person she trusts to help with the Children's Crusade. Even though this is their only conversation, the presence of him during this scene shows how much she trusts him.

#### David 'Davey' Jacobs

Katherine and Davey interact multiple times throughout the show, working together on the Newsie strike and then the Children's Crusade. They also work together to get Jack back in the game after the original failure of the strike. Davey trusts her enough to leave Les in her care.

#### Les Jacobs

Les, the younger brother of Davey, enters the second scene in Medda's theatre with Katherine, meaning that Les went with her over the other Newsies to look for Jack. They enter several minutes after Davey, which means that they either weren't looking with him or Davey ran ahead and Les didn't run after him. Katherine is also the one to comfort him when Jack is worried that Crutchie may die.

#### Specs

At the disastrous end to Seize The Day, Katherine is seen helping Specs hide, telling him to get down. It's likely that at this point, it's only because he was closest to her when Snyder showed up. Later, Katherine tells Jack that Specs showed her Jack's 'penthouse'.

#### Other Newsies

Katherine is probably also close to the other Newsies, including Crutchie and Race, but she doesn't have any significant interactions with any of them.

#### Medda Larkin

Katherine is the one sent to Medda to recruit Teddy Rosevelt to their cause, over one of the other Newsies. You can assume that Medda would know the other Newsies through her interactions with Jack, so Katherine and Medda must have known each other relatively well for Jack to send her over anyone else. Katherine, being rich, likely also goes to the theatre outside of work and has probably met Medda before. More proof for this idea comes in "I Never Planned on You/Don't Come a-Knocking." when Medda says to Jack and Kathrine "hey you two got in for free, at least pay attention." Medda must know Kathrine well to bend her no kids in the theatre rule like she did for Jake.

## Actresses

### Broadway

Kara Lindsay originated the role of Katherine on Broadway, playing the role from 15 March 2012 to 2 February 2014. She also played the role when Newsies played at the Papermill and reprised the role for Newsies Live.

Liana Hunt took over after Lindsay, playing the role from 3 February 2014 until the show closed on 24 August 2014.

Caitlyn Caughell understudied the role from 15 March 2012 to 17 August 2014.

Laurie Veldheer understudied the role from 15 March 2012 to 17 February 2013.

### 1st National Tour

Stephanie Styles played the role during the first national tour from 11 October 2014 until 11 October 2015.

Morgan Keene took over from Styles, playing the role from 13 October 2015 until 02 October 2016.

## Fandom Ships

### Jatherine

Jack x Katherine, this ship is cannon in the stage production, so it is one of the most commonly found Katherine ships.