Review: NEWSIES at Music Hall

Kansas City, watch what happens when a group of newsboys take on one of the most important journalists of their time.

Right now through February 28th, the 2012 Tony award winning show for Best Choreography and Best Score, Newsies is playing at the Music Hall. Based on the 1992 Disney movie and loose real-life events in New York City, Newsies tells the story of a group of orphaned teenaged boys that sell newspapers to make money. After Joseph Pulitzer (Steve Blanchard) raises the amount of money the boys have to pay to buy the papers they sell, the boys, under the direction of Davey (Stephen Michael Langton) and Jack Kelly (Joey Barreiro), go on strike with the help of burgeoning journalist Katherine (Morgan Keene).

There are some differences between the movie and stage version. Some of the songs by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman have been changed and there have even been some additions. The lyrical changes in "Carrying the Banner" and "Santa Fe" give the songs more depth and connect them more definite to the plot instead of just being a song break. One of the biggest changes is having a woman journalist instead of a man. This change added to the theme of rooting for the underdog as it was unheard of to have a woman in such a position during the that time. Katherine's fast-paced solo and new song, "Watch What Happens," is one of my favorites in the show. While the song does not give the singer much time to breathe between lines (believe me, I've tried), Keene belts through the song with great breath and energy.

The entire show is high-energy and powerful and each cast member brings something special to the show through their character's unique personality. The songs revolve around dance, and the whole cast executes their turns (so many turns), flips, and other tricks gracefully and perfectly. The dance break in "Seize the Day" and tap-dance break in "King of New York" had the audience whopping, hollering, and clapping the entire time. I was in awe of Christopher Gattelli's choreography and the cast; it can't be easy to do all of those tricks and then get right back into singing without even showing if they were out of breath.

Joey Barreiro perfected the mix of boy-ish charm and teenage angst that is Jack Kelly. As the main character, Barreiro carries the show well; telling everyone this is exactly what he is meant to do. His final note in "Santa Fe" gave the people around me chills and made me tear up. He made the audience feel how scared and angry Jack was after the beating the newsies, especially Crutchie (Zachary Sayle), took.

Speaking of Zachary Sayle, as Crutchie is a more humorous character, I was surprised that during his "Letter from the Refuge" he had such a smooth voice (though I'm not sure why it surprised me). Sayle plays a charming Crutchie that caught the hearts of the audience, or at least the audience member behind me who whispered "Not Crutchie" as he was getting beat by the Delancey brothers.

Stephen Michael Langton as Davey is the more levelheaded counterpart of Jack Kelly. And Langton's "Seize the Day" was encouraging, but also showed off his vocal talents, he was perfect to sing this song, and I look forward to seeing him in more shows in the future.

At this performance, John Michael Pitera played almost-10-year-old Les. His deliverance of Les' one-liners lightened the mood and packed in the cute during particularly rough scenes, especially while Crutchie was detained.

As a whole, Newsies is an incredible show with catchy showstoppers and a lot of heart. If you have the chance to see the show, do not pass it up. It's two-and-a-half-hours of fun and entertainment for the whole family.

Tickets are limited, but go to http://www.ticketmaster.com/venueartist/49167/1984863?camefrom=cfc_THL_BUTTON or call 800.745.3000.

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