BWW Reviews: NEWSIES Delivers Dynamic Dancing

Once upon a time, before smart phones and the Internet and Facebook, there were newspapers. And if someone wanted to find out what was happening in the world, they had to buy a paper, often from boys selling the paper on city streets, hawking its headlines like town criers.

These vendors are the subject of the Disney musical NEWSIES, now on stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

Based on the 1992 movie starring Christian Bale, Bill Pullman and Robert Duvall, the story details the real-life Newsboys Strike of 1899, when rich newspaper moguls Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, in order to battle decreased revenue, raised the price of a bundle of newspapers, forcing the newsies to sell more papers in order to make the same money. The newsies, in classic David vs. Goliath fashion, formed an ad-hoc union and went on strike, causing newspaper circulation---and profits---to plummet.

In the Disney-fied musical, the plot centers on Jack Kelly, (Dan DeLuca) an orphaned, charismatic Bowery Boy-Dead End Kid with artistic ability and a hankering to move to Santa Fe. He is the unofficial leader of the Lower Manhattan newsies, who look surprisingly muscled and well-fed for a bunch of starving orphans and dirt-poor street kids. Jack befriends the well-spoken, well-read Davey (Jacob Kemp) and Davey's cute-as-a-button brother Les (Anthony Rosenthal) seeing the marketability in tiny Les selling papers through sob stories. The boys team up, but are soon hit by Pulitzer's price hike. Jack rebels, and David suggests they go on strike. Along the way, Jack meets young newspaper writer Katherine (Stephanie Styles) who yearns to leave behind puff pieces and report hard news. Katherine plays Wendy to Jack's Peter Pan and his band of Lost Boys and gives voice to the newsies' cause.

Unlike other period musicals like RAGTIME, which employs music in the style of its era, NEWSIES, though it takes place in 1899, has a modern pop/rock score and some infectious anthems, such as "Seize the Day" and the rollicking second act opener "King of New York". The choreography is thrilling and acrobatic, like a WEST SIDE STORY meets STOMP mash-up. The erection set-style set illustrates the grittiness and industrialization of America at the turn of that century. The projections of sepia-toned New York and old-fashioned newspapers give the scenic design depth and flavor.

DeLuca embodies the swagger and confidence of his character. He's a strong singer and dancer and a dynamic presence. Styles portrays the emancipated Katherine with panache. The two have real chemistry.

Angela Grovey is terrific as vaudeville performer and theatre proprietor Medda Larkin; her big number, "That's Rich" is one of the highlights of the show. Steve Blanchard is all corporate evil as Joseph Pulitzer. Kevin Carolan does a cartoonishly bully turn as New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt.

NEWSIES is that kind of feel-good musical that Disney specializes in, and it's easy to overlook the anachronisms and clichés because it's such fun to watch.

NEWSIES runs through February 8 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. For tickets and more information, call 305-949-6722 or visit arshtcenter.org.

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