The 21st century did not invent “fake news”. (As the widow, mother, mother-in-law, and stepmother of journalists, and in the interest of full disclosure, I will say the phrase makes my skin crawl.) It was going on in the United States even before the 20th century. Late in the 1890’s newspaper wars, particularly in New York City, practiced what came to be known as yellow journalism. The origin of the phrase is arguable, but in general it referred to sensationalizing stories or slanting them, sometimes quite precipitously, to gain readership and/or to push an agenda. To be fair, the papers also carried stories that were accurate and free of bias, but it was the front page that drove circulation in the competition between William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World.
That latter name sound familiar? Yes, the World was the second paper bought by Pulitzer. His first was the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, two newspapers he combined under one banner. Pulitzer is a pivotal character in the final show of the Muny’s 99th season, Newsies the Musical.
Newspapers in New York in those days were mostly hawked by newsboys, known as newsies. They bought each “pape”, as they apparently called them, from the paper itself, at half the price they charged and then re-sold them. A hot headline drove sales, of course. Pulitzer, declaiming about profits, decided to raise the price he charged the newsies. Other papers followed, leading to a two-week strike, which the young workers won.
That’s the story line in Newsies, which introduces us to Jack Kelly (Jay Armstrong Johnson) and his pal Crutchie (Daniel Quadrino). Kelly’s the guy who comes up with the idea of the strike and fires up his band of adolescents, perhaps a little too old to be called ragamuffins, but certainly poor kids supporting themselves and living on the streets or helping support their families. They decide to form a union, helped by a new arrival, Davey (Spencer Davis Milford) and his little brother Les (Gabriel Cytron). The new guys’ father also worked for Pulitzer’s World but was let go after he was injured at work. As the idea begins to gather steam, a reporter – a woman! – appears, asking questions. Katherine Plumber (Tessa Grady) wants to move on from the society pages to serious news, and thinks this story could give her traction.
There’s plenty of interaction with Pulitzer (Davis Gaines) himself, plus his henchmen, as well as a successful Bowery theater owner, Medda Larkin (Ta’Rea Campbell), who sympathizes with the kids, and Medda’s friend, the governor of the state of New York, Theodore Roosevelt (Thad Turner Wilson) – whose election the Pulitzer paper had opposed. (Roosevelt, for those unfamiliar with his pre-presidential background, was quite a reformer.)
This is a Disney show, created after the slow-growing success of the movie of the same name, although changed and with some alteration of the score. Still, it’s a good bet that this is going to have a happy ending, and sure enough, that’s what we get, along with some laughs, and what may be the most athletic choreography of the Muny year from Chris Bailey, who also directed the production.
Johnson and Grady have terrific chemistry once the spark is finally lit, fun after their initial verbal fencing. Good work from Quadrino as the sidekick and Campbell who has a great number called “That’s Rich”. The rookie in the crowd, young Gabriel Cytron, carries things off flawlessly – he’s a charmer in the role. Gaines’ Pulitzer foregoes the Hungarian accent and feels very Wall Street.
Michael Schweikardt’s set is spare, befitting the poverty and slightly dusty newspaper dock where much of this takes place. But the video design of Greg Emetaz is rather splendid, lots of old photographs and paper-turning to reveal yet more. This is Bailey’s directorial debut. I am sure we’ll see a lot more from him.
Interestingly, by the mid-20th century, the Pulitzer family was very union-friendly and the Post-Dispatch’s union employees felt valued and were well taken care of. The sale to Lee Enterprises changed all that, but those kids who went on strike left a mark that lived on after them. At least for a while.
Very family-friendly and good fun.
Newsies the Musical
through August 13
The Muny
Forest Park