Review: St. Louis Stages Thrills with DISNEY'S NEWSIES in an Exhilarating New Production

There are three words you need to know about STAGES St. Louis new production of Disney’s NEWSIES: Lindsay Joy Lancaster. In her debut as choreographer of a full-blown professional production Lancaster electrified the sold-out Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. Her athletic blend of classical and contemporary dance stops the show with thunderous applause following “Carrying the Banner,” “The World Will Know,” and “King of New York.” The audience leapt to their feet before the curtain call began following the exceptionally talented young cast’s execution of Lancaster’s choreographed “Finale.” 

Disney’s NEWSIES, at its core, is fueled by kinetic dance, but this STAGES St. Louis production is much more than Lancaster and the cast’s powerful terpsichorean display. Director Steve Bebout collaborated with his cast and crew to tell a stirring David versus Goliath story that was exceptionally entertaining with exquisite execution. Bebout uses all the updated theatrical technology housed in the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center (KPAC) to stage a dazzling high-tech production unlike anything St. Louis audiences have seen in a venue of that size. This director, this theater, and STAGES are gifting St. Louis audiences with a true Broadway experience.  

Bebout seamlessly moves the story along thanks to Ann Beyersdorfer’s versatile set design. Beyersdorfer uses everything the theater has to offer to create fluid set changes. The scope and depth of her set is epic with a keen attention to detail. Large industrial looking set pieces fly in and out while smaller set pieces are nimbly moved on-and-off-stage by the actors. Her creation may be inspired by the antiquated printing technology of 1899, but her innovative set design shifts right along with Bebout’s briskly paced storytelling. 

The distraction of moving set pieces never detracts from the actors delivering magnificent performances. Bebout’s well prepared cast delivery phenomenal portrayals of the young striking newspaper carriers taking on the greedy publisher. Daniel Marconi creates an audacious and gritty Jack Kelly brimming with the overconfidence to take on a tyrannical tycoon. Christoper Gurr’s ruthless portrayal of the authoritarian publisher Joe Pulitzer matches Marconi’s pluckiness with Machiavellian manipulation. Marconi’s Kelly is as likeable as Gurr’s Pulitzer is contemptible, and together they are magnetic. 

Marconi’s magnetism extends beyond his work with Gurr. His charisma with Taylor Quick (Kathryn), Matthew Cox (Crutchie), Anita Michelle Jackson (Medda Larkin), Davin Wade (Les), and the entire company is perceptible. Quick and Jackson magnificently inhabit the women in Jack’s life, Kathryn his love interest, and Medda Larkin his mother figure. Both portray characters with a believable connection to Jack, sing beautifully, and look over-the-top glamourous in Brad Musgrove’s stunning costumes. Cox’s spunky Crutchie is a likeable second banana. The boyish Wade has strong comedic timing that is beyond his years. He holds his own with actors more than twice his age. Cox, Jackson, Quick, and Wade all turn in wonderfully authentic supporting performances. 

Opening night proved challenging for Mike Tracy’s sound design and the technicians running the board. Early in the show multiple actors' microphones were either not turned on or potted high enough to capture their lines and singing. There were a few other microphone glitches throughout the performance leaving some of the actors' contributions hard to hear. It is one of the largest casts in recent memory for a STAGES St. Louis production and the sheer number of actors may have created some complexities for the sound designer.  

Despite the problems with the microphones, this is a beautiful production with stunning technical theatre elements. Musgrove’s costumes are impeccable and his designs for the female cast members create personified elegance. Beyersdorfer’s industrial set design is beautifully illuminated by Sean M. Savoie’s radiant lighting design and enhanced by Saki Kawamura’s creative projections. Special recognition needs to be paid to Daniel Paller for Kathryn’s wig designs and to Bart Williams for his realistic fight choreography.  

This STAGES St. Louis production of Disney’s NEWSIES is a thrilling production on a grand scale with a large cast and phenomenal production value. The state-of-the-art Ross Family Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center is the only proscenium theater in St. Louis that affords local audiences the opportunity to see a bona-fide Broadway caliber production. Its intimate 529-seat capacity and its technical capabilities most closely mirror the theaters in New York City. The artistic professionals at STAGES have taken advantage of everything the KPAC has to offer and deliver a first-rate production of Disney’s NEWSIES. 

STAGES St. Louis exhilarating production of Disney’s NEWSIES continues through August 25, 2024, in the Ross Family Theatre at The Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. Click the link below to purchase tickets.

PHOTO CREIDT: Phillip Hamer 

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