It's hard for me to be totally unbiased about "Newsies". The Disney musical tells the tale, with lots of literary license, of a union being organized at Joseph Pulitzer's New York World newspaper in 1899. It's a story of the little guys, in this case, newspaper street vendors, against the establishment and trying to give employees some power in dealing with the heavyweights in the front offices.
It's ironic that Disney, which verges on being a megacorporation, brings this to us. It's also very timely in that it talks about political causes that are still relevant and how power can be used in politics. When Joseph Pulitzer sings "King of New York," one can hardly avoid thinking of Donald Trump.
So here we have a fairly serious subject and a bunch of decidedly unglamorous, downright drab kids only a few years older and a few pennies richer than the ragamuffins from Oliver Twist. How does this translate as a musical? Amazingly well, thank you.
It's not the story line, which is predictable, of course. No, it's two things: Performers and choreography. Joey Barreiro is almost incandescent as Jack Kelly, our hero, who becomes the leader of the kids. He's well-matched with Morgan Keene as Katherine, an aspiring reporter whose nose for news finds the kids. They share one of the better love scenes I've seen in a contemporary musical. The young ones Jack leads all do well, with particular kudos to young John Michael Pitera as Les, a winsome kid whose role is played alternate performances by Ethan Steiner, and the elder brother Davey, Stephen Michael Langton. Steve Blanchard's Joseph Pulitzer is no moustache-twirling villain, smoother and smarter and deeply concerned about his bottom line. He gives us a clear reminder of that wise saying, freedom of the press belongs to he who owns the press. And by the way, that's a real antique printing press they're using that's at least a hundred years old.
The day is saved by the equivalent of the cavalry coming to the rescue: the newsboys from (pre-fashionable) Brooklyn arrive to join the strike. And that's part of my bias. I married the Brooklyn-born president of The Newspaper Guild local when they were in the middle of negotiations with the still-Pulitzer-owned Post-Dispatch. Strategy sessions were held around my dining room table.
The choreography won "Newsies" a Tony for Christopher Gattelli. It's spectacular, taking the type of thing some might find familiar from "Riverdance" and cranking it up several notches. It's spectacular, crisp and athletic at the same time. "Seize the Day", toward the end of the first act, involving dancing with newspapers stops the show. The score by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman is workable but not deeply memorable.
The set gives a good combination of very modern steel beams and some excellent image projection combined with references to the style of the times when it's set. Tobin Ost did the scenic design. And the Fox sound system does pretty well, although many of the lyrics in choral singing are muffled and unintelligible.
Please note that the evening performances begin at 7.30 p.m., something the Fox appears to be trying for certain shows, presumably ones that are more family-friendly.
Newsies
through January 31, 2015
Fox Theatre
527 N. Grand Blvd.