The Los Angeles premiere engagement of Disney's NEWSIES celebrated its opening night last night, March 26th, at the Pantages Theatre for a limited run through April 19th. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening festivities below!
Opening night guests included NEWSIES Tony Award-winning composer Alan Menken, Tony Award winning lyricist Jack Feldman, and director Jeff Calhoun; director of theNEWSIES film, Kenny Ortega; NEWSIES screenwriters Bob Tzudiker and Noni White; songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez (Frozen, Book of Mormon); composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, If/Then); Michael Turchin and Lance Bass; Bruno Tonioli (ABC's Dancing with the Stars); reality star Lisa Vanderpump and her dog, Giggy, who was dressed for the occasion as a newsie.
The production features Dan DeLuca as "Jack Kelly", Steve Blanchard as "Joseph Pulitzer", Stephanie Styles as "Katherine", Angela Grovey as "Medda Larkin", Jacob Kemp as "Davey", Zachary Sayle as "Crutchie", and Vincent Crocilla and Anthony Rosenthal alternating the role of "Les."
Rounding out the cast are Mark Aldrich, Josh Assor, Evan Autio, Bill Bateman, Josh Burrage, Kevin Carolan, DeMarius Copes, Benjamin Cook, Julian DeGuzman, Nico DeJesus, Sky Flaherty, Michael Gorman, Jon Hacker, Jeff Heimbrock, Stephen Hernandez, Meredith Inglesby, Molly Jobe, James Judy, Eric Jon Mahlum, Michael Ryan, Jordan Samuels, Jack Sippel, Melissa Steadman Hart, Andrew Wilson and Chaz Wolcott.
NEWSIES, the new American musical, features a Tony Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award-winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, a book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein and is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, NEWSIES is directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award for his work. The entire creative team has reunited to bring the break-out smash musical to audiences across North America.
Set in New York City at the turn of the century, NEWSIES is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged 'newsies,' who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys' expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies newsies from across the city to strike for what's right.
For more information, visit NewsiesTheMusical.com/Tour.
Photo Credit: Rick Rowell/ABC
Giggy
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Bobby Lopez and family
Lisa Vanderpump and Giggy
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