As the music rises to a crescendo, so do nerves. Actors dance and sing across the stage as their sweat and smiles glow under spotlights. A body enters from the wings abruptly through a series of vibrant flips. Junior Dylan Mcarthur lands center stage just as quickly as he launches, right in time for the song “Carrying the Banner’s” climax. 

Mcarthur auditioned for the musical “Newsies” in October where he first showed off his tumbling skills during a portion of the audition where students were welcomed to perform any special tricks they may have.

“My friends are involved in the theatre program and they encouraged me to do [“Newsies”] because they thought I would like it,” Mcarthur said. “It was definitely nerve wracking, because this is my first production and I’ve never auditioned for anything before. But I’m pretty confident in my ability to do flips and stuff. So the aspect of flipping wasn’t scary, it was just being in front of all those people.”

Mcarthur learned his tricks while doing competitive gymnastics for eight years, beginning when he was 7 years old after he was inspired by seeing the 2016 Rio Olympics. After quitting the sport in 2024, he kept his skills in shape by helping his younger sister with her cheerleading. He now plays on the varsity golf team.

“I think they do go hand in hand, but they’re very much different sports, because gymnastics is so athletically challenging, because you need strength and balance,” Mcarthur said. “I do see that golf incorporates flexibility, which is something I get an advantage with to where I can take the club back and can hit farther.”

With the original Broadway production of “Newsies” being a dance and stunt heavy musical, Mcarthur can be seen doing over 10 stunts throughout the show, including flips, toe touches and jumps off of set pieces. 

“You kind of have to really think about what you’re doing first, you can’t go into it just with a blank mind, because that’s how you get hurt,” Mcarthur said. “I think it’s ultimately scary when you try to flip for the first time, but after you do it so many times, it just becomes routine. The whole reason I auditioned was to get out of my comfort zone, and that’s what I’m kind of doing now. But I mean, anytime they ask me to do a flip, I’ll do it. I love it.”