Newsies Jr.

This lively musical is based on the 1992 film Newsies, which was inspired by the real-life Newsboys' Strike of 1899 in New York. Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of New York World, decides to increase the cost of the papers. The newsies first have to buy the papers, then go and sell them. They fear that the increased price will put them out of business, and thus jeopardise their meagre livelihood. They form a union, and go on strike, which despite various setbacks, they finally win. There is a powerful message about standing up for what is right, the strength of unity, friendship, and courage in the face of injustice.

YEM provided a well-designed and informative programme with a good synopsis; list of musical numbers and note from the YEM Theatre Productions founders. There were excellent notes on the creative team of Director, Musical Director and Choreographer, and also on the large production team, many of whom have progressed along from being YEM performers in past productions. Good cast photos and photos of past productions completed this interesting programme.

The curtain opened onto an intriguing set of brick houses and windows to the right, and beautiful hills – the sunlit uplands of Jack’s dream place, Santa Fe, New Mexico, I assume, to the left. There were various great backdrops projected onto the back wall, always interesting to peruse – city streets; a gorgeous theatre; the ‘refuge’ with its chilling, barred, I think, window and Crutchie’s sad letter written across it. There was a platform running along the rear of the stage. At various stages news headlines were ‘written up’ by a cast member and then appeared whilst they were being written, letter by letter, on a black screen to the right. This is hard to explain, but very effective, and quite fascinating! Use of props was good, the stand from which Weisel sold the Newsies their papers; Pulitzer’s office with desk and a few chairs; the old printing press; the theatre with three chairs on each side, one behind the other to suggest the auditorium – that was clever. Scene changes were slick. The cast ran through the auditorium during the strike distributing Katherine Plumber’s article with its huge headline: ‘Newsies stop the world!’. I still have mine!

Lighting was very effective throughout. There were a few sound blips, but these did not detract from our enjoyment of the show.

Costumes were great, a motley collection of shirts, trousers, some cut short to suggest the kids were growing so fast, yet there was no cash to buy new ones, some skirts, a variety of waistcoats, and of course flat caps and canvas shoulder bags for the papers. Medda Larkin, theatre owner, looked fine in her dark purple gown. Katherine Plumber wore a beautiful outfit,  dark red skirt and buttoned, fitted tunic over a white blouse with bow and full sleeves. Pulitzer’s staff wore neat office wear, he in dark suit and amazing top hat at one stage. Governor Teddy Roosevelt was in fine western gear and full black moustache – that was fun!

This production ran along at a lively pace, with plenty of energy and buzz. The young cast obviously knew exactly what their aims were, and their American accents were very impressive all round, and kept up impeccably throughout. They all seemed to be very comfortable and tackled their roles with great confidence – so praise for the obviously good direction, which ensured the pace never faltered.

Choreography was fresh and precise, and gave us some good stage pictures. I particularly enjoyed the excellent tap number, and of course the finale was superb, very uplifting.  Musical direction was good too, with all the numbers delivered with conviction, style and power. There were many thoughtful times too, Jack’s longing for Santa Fe, both at the start, and then after he thought the situation was hopeless, and also Crutchie’s plaintive ‘Letter from the refuge’ after her arrest. Max as Jack and Paige as Crutchie put their all into their roles, excellent work from them.

All the principals were well-cast and performed with great character. We really felt we knew them. Sophie made a brilliant Katherine Plumber, the little rich daughter of the press baron, who wanted to make her own way on her own merits, and fully embraced the Newsies’ cause. She acted well and her voice was beautiful.

Ollie as Davey and Poppy as Les were a great pair of ‘newcomers’, who had an important role to play. It was Davey who suggested the idea of the strike and the need to form a union, and Les was his secret weapon when it came to selling newspapers – nobody could resist buying one, when offered to them by his cute sibling in the stripey blazer!

Jack’s so supportive theatre pal, Medda Larkin, was another great role, played with panache by Elle. She made Jack believe in his own abilities as an artist, and this raised self-confidence and awareness gave Jack more power in his dealings with Mr Pulitzer, a good performance from Ethan, who seemed quite flummoxed as the Newsies realised their newfound strength.

We all, of course, were so pleased to see the comeuppance of the horrid keeper of the ‘refuge’, Mr Snyder. I bet Joey really enjoyed playing this nasty piece of work!

A great story, this, made real by all these believable characters, and this cast of 40 who all played with great enthusiasm. This show whizzed along, yet gave us food for thought, so not just a musical extravaganza. A good choice by the talented production team of YEM Theatre Productions. This was my first visit – welcome to NODA – and I will now certainly look forward to seeing what this fine company of motivated young people come up with next!

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