'Newsies' actress from Chicago connects with 'self-made' roles

From singing at small jazz bars in Chicago to performing at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire and on Broadway, Aisha de Haas considers herself a “self-made woman.” And that, she says, helps her connect to her current role in the national tour of Disney's Tony Award-winning musical “Newsies.”

The musical, set in New York City more than a century ago, is inspired by a real-life newsboy strike. It plays Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre starting Thursday, July 28.

De Haas stars as Medda Larkin, who lets newsboy Jack Kelly work and hang out at her vaudeville-style theater.

“She (Medda Larkin) is what I like to call a self-made woman,” de Haas said. “She owns her own burlesque house and she's a bit of a motherly type figure for Jack Kelly.”

“I think anybody who is pursuing the arts is making themselves,” De Hass added. “It can be such a grind, but if you get to a place where people are now recognizing your work, then you have made yourself.”

De Haas said that what she loves most about musical theater is the interaction with a live audience.

“People often ask ‘Don't you get tired of doing the same thing eight times a week?' and I personally don't because you're in front of a different audience every show,” de Haas said. “The passion that I have for that back-and-forth with an audience whether I'm singing at a bar or doing musical theater is what I really love.”

After graduating from Columbia College with a major in theater and music, she moved around the Chicago music scene singing at jazz clubs such as the Green Mill and at suburban weddings and corporate parties. She then moved on to bigger stages, playing Effie White in “Dreamgirls” at the Marriott and Mrs. Cratchit in Goodman Theatre's “A Christmas Carol.”

De Haas' resume goes beyond theater. She has appeared on TV shows such as “Law & Order” and was in the film version of “Rent.”

Still, it's not easy, and there are times when De Haas has gone stretches without working steadily. Yet, she can't see herself with any other job.

“If I were to get another career, that means I would give up on this and I just can't see that.”