Newsies Jr

It is always a pleasure to receive an invitation from the Creative Team of Monmouth Comprehensive School, but this time held  an additional interest, as I had never seen the musical theatre adaptation of their latest production, “Newsies” [Jr]. This was breaking new ground, and I was very much looking forward to seeing what it was all about.

As always, I was struck from the opening scenes by the sheer volume of sound and the cleverly coordinated movements of this extensive cast. “A sea of faces”, is not an exaggerated statement. However, I must emphasise that this was a sea of animated and totally involved faces.

The production having been worked with a double principal casting, I was only privileged to see one, but I can say with confidence that from experience both castings would have given an equally effective performance.

Aled Phillips as Jack Kelly gave a strong but sensitive performance, clearly showing the turmoil and emotional side to the character as he worked his way through the problems and consequences of the actions he was taking.

Aneira Pearce as Katherine the Newspaper Reporter with a secret and a conscience gave a determined performance, showing her struggle to be independent and support the changes for the Newsies, with lovely clear vocals and good characterisation.

An excellent performance from Phillip Scott as “Crutchie”. I really could not tell if his lack of mobility was actual or acting, the performance was impressive, and his characterisation pulled on every heartstring. 

An excellent performance from Freya Hoggins as Davey. She made the stage her own and along with the cheeky antics of Les played by Harry Thomas, gave a strong link in the story, with some excellent comic timing from Harry. 

A lovely performance as Medda from Naia Price-Brown, who has a superb stage presence and a strong performance from Sunny Mouton as the newspaper owner Joseph Pulitzer. Every show needs its tyrant.

This show had some very strong principles and too many roles to name individually, but my congratulations go to you all. The strength of this production in no small measure must go to the exceptional choral numbers, and the innovative choreography and movement, using every inch of the excellent staging. The effort enthusiasm and cooperation within every scene is a credit to you and the dedication of the production team. Bravo

 

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