Newsies Forever

Today Show

Jordyn POV:

"Hello everybody and welcome to The Today Show. I'm your host, Karen Yawn and today I am talking with the people who are taking the Broadway world by storm. Jordyn started her acting career at the age of 17 when she toured the country in Newsies playing Sniper. After that was over she filmed 3 hit movies and a tv series! Then she decided to head back to Broadway and star in the touring production of Les Miserables playing Eponine. After that, she starred in a new tv series and filmed another movie! She is now currently starring as Eliza in the hit show Hamilton! Next we have Ben who started his career at a young age and has a very long resume so we will just tell you the major things! He was in the original Broadway cast of Ragtime, then went on tour as Billy in the touring production of Billy Elliot! He also made a couple tv appearances! Then, he went along side Jordyn on the National tour of Newsies playing the character Race. He then returned back to Broadway to be in the original Broadway cast of the show Tuck Everlasting! Then he joined Jordyn again on the tour of Les Miserables where he played the role of Marius. Now he is playing the role of Clyde in the Broadway revival of Bonnie and Clyde! And last but not least, we have Melina. She made her Broadway debut playing Matilda in Matilda when she was 8, and then when she was 10 she joined Ben and Jordyn on the national tour of Les Mis where she played Young Cossette and Young Eponine! When she was 11 she played the role of Winnie Foster in Tuck Everlasting then took on the role of Katie in school of Rock when she was 13! Now she is Young Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde on Broadway with Ben! Please welcome, the Broadway power family, Ben, Jordyn, and Melina Cook!" Karen said.

"Hi!" We all smiled.

"So, there's 3 of you, and you are all currently on Broadway?" Karen asked.

"Well there's actually 4 of us, we have a 3 year old little girl too! She's a little too young to be on Broadway though." I laughed.

"One day though. She already dances all around our apartment." Ben said.

"That's so cute! Ok, so I know everybody knows the story, but I just love hearing it! Tell us the story of how this whole family came to be!" She smiled.

"Well, we first met when we were 17 on the tour of newsies and we started dating. We would get in fights like normal couples but we had a huge breakup. 3 years later I ran into him when I was seeing Hamilton with my brother and we started talking and then dating again. Then we got cast in Les Mis together and Melina was only 10. Her mom couldn't come on tour with her so me and Ben signed on to be her legal guardians. Then, one day at Disney World, Ben proposed to me and I said yes and then right after that he asked Melina if we could legally adopt her." I explained.

"Wow, so Melina, you were only 10 years old! How old are you now?" Karen asked.

"I'm 15." Melina smiled.

"Wow, where has the time gone? Now, I don't know about the rest of the world but I feel like I've been watching you guys grow up! I took my daughter to see the Newsies tour and saw you both, then she saw Tuck Everlasting and watched Jordyns movies and then we saw the Les Mis tour and we saw Tuck again with Melina in it, I feel like we've been able to follow you in this journey." Karen said.

"Yeah it's great! I mean, we go to the stagedoor and we still have people who are like 'oh my gosh! I saw you in Newsies!' And it's like woah that was over 10 years ago! And it's great we've been able to make our career last so long." Ben said.

"That's amazing. Melina, you've kinda grown up in the spotlight. People feel like they've been able to follow along with you as you've grown up." She said.

"Yeah, people come up to me who I've never met and are like 'You have gotten so big!' and I'm like um who are you?" Melina laughed. "But it's been great, I've been able to grow up in such a great environment with amazing people. And it has taught me to grow up a lot. When I was 10 Jordyn and Ben were in a big fight and the paparazzi would follow  me and scream questions in my face and I had to learn how to deal with people always taking pictures of me and how I need to handle myself. One picture of me losing  it and it's going to be all over the media. But, it's definitely taught me a lot." She smiled.