‘Newsies’ delivers plenty of old-fashioned fun, exciting song and dance

Director Jim Corti goes for realism as much as he can and succeeds much of the time.

SHARE ‘Newsies’ delivers plenty of old-fashioned fun, exciting song and dance
Alex Prakken (front,center) is charismatic newsboy Jack Kelly who convinces his fellow newsboys to go on strike in Paramount Theatre’s fleet-footed new production of Disney’s “Newsies.”

Alex Prakken (front,center) is charismatic newsboy Jack Kelly who convinces his fellow newsboys to go on strike in Paramount Theatre’s fleet-footed new production of Disney’s “Newsies.”

Liz Lauren

Ever since it debuted as a 1992 Disney movie, “Newsies” has always been easy to side-eye. Like the movie, the 2011 stage version of “Newsies” is all but scrubbed of the filth, squalor and degradation that impoverished children faced in late-1800s New York City. Compare “Newsies” aesthetic with that of Jacob Riis’ photos from the era and you’ll wonder if New York was once a place of parallel universes.

Instead, Alan Menken (music), Jack Feldman (lyrics) and Harvey Fierstein (book) offer a sentimental sanitization of the 1899 “Children’s Crusade” that shut down New York City when the newsboy strike blossomed into a thousands-strong movement. There’s even time for romance here, as feisty newsboy Jack Kelly (Alex Prakken) sets his cap for intrepid girl reporter Katherine Plumber (Justine Cameron).

Paramount’s production makes the show harder to scoff at, even when the cheese is at it All-American-Velveeta-cheesiest. When Kelly urges his fellow paperboys to take on Joseph Pulitzer (Bret Tuomi), he could be stumping for any number of contemporary politico progressives. That’s especially true once Pulitzer denounces Jack as a “socialist,” frames child exploitation as educational and applauds the for-profit “Refuge,” a hellish place where children without parents are locked up.

‘Disney’s Newsies The Musical ’

Untitled

When: Through Oct. 20

Where: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena, Aurora

Tickets: $36 - $74

Info: Paramountaurora.com, 847/896-6666

Run time: 2 hours, 30 minutes with one intermission


With the opening scene, “Newsies” works to steer clear of the “Little Rascals”-style cuteness. Director Jim Corti goes for realism as much as he can and succeeds much of the time.

“Newsies” starts small, with a pool of light on a crumple of clothes on a rooftop. That crumple moves. It’s a person. When Crutchie (Michael Kurowski) tries to drag his broken body down the fire escape at dawn, it’s tough to watch without wincing. When Crutchie and Kelly wrap their voices around the lovely and wistful “Santa Fe,” shadows in the gutters and doorways below take shape as small bodies, children trying to sleep.

The opening scene’s tight focus makes the show’s size all the more stunning when William Boles’ parkour-worthy scenic design opens up into a New York City streetscape featuring a life-sized Jewish deli and towering signage over Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World offices. The set doubles as a jungle gym of sorts; there are plenty of places for the newsies to climb, leap and dangle.

Justine Cameron (center) plays Katherine Plumber, a brash young journalist who stands firmly for the newsboys’ strike for fair pay in “Newsies.”

Justine Cameron (center) plays Katherine Plumber, a brash young journalist who stands firmly for the newsboys’ strike for fair pay in “Newsies.”

Liz Lauren

Within that massive space, Corti effectively uses tiny gestures to make indelible points: Watch the way well-off New Yorkers adjust their top hats to avert their eyes when the scrawny, dirty newsboys try to sell them papers. More than a century later, it’s recognizable.

Choreographer Joshua Blake Carter stays true to the show’s signature acrobatics but there’s a purpose to it beyond crowd-pleasing backflips. The cast powers “Seize the Day” with defiant autonomy. “Carrying the Banner” swells with pride. “The World Will Know” is a fist, punching up through oppression, demanding to be recognized.

Prakken is believable as a scrappy teenager, and he’s got the vocal prowess to do right by a score that’s heavy on anthems and conventional, satisfying melodies. Cameron’s Katherine is no pushover for Jack’s insistent charms. There’s barely time to breathe within the dense wording of “Watch What Happens,” but Cameron delivers it with crystal-clarity and a character-deepening sense of purpose.

Newsboys and devoted friends Crutchie (Michael Kurowski) and Jack Kelly (Alex Prakken) dream of better things on a New York rooftop in Paramount Theatre’s new production of Disney’s “Newsies.”

Newsboys and devoted friends Crutchie (Michael Kurowski) and Jack Kelly (Alex Prakken) dream of better things on a New York rooftop in Paramount Theatre’s new production of Disney’s “Newsies.”

The supporting cast is a doozy. As vaudeville star Medda Larkin, Jerica Exum (Katherine Lee Bourne takes over the role Oct. 7) is truly Queen of the Cakewalk.

As brothers new to the paper-selling gig, Davey (Koray Tarhan) and 10-year-old Les (Nathanial Buescher opening night, Daniel Font-Wilets at some performances) bicker and protect each other like actual siblings. Tuomi is priceless as the dastardly Pulitzer. And for all you hold newsworthy, keep an eye out for Christopher John Kelley. As Specs, he embodies that high-flying choreo and has a triple-pirouette that’ll make you gasp in wonder.

Music director /conductor Tom Vendafreddo’s orchestra is, per usual, outstanding. Listen for the insistent, propulsive strings as they create a thrilling buildup to “Seize the Day,” the sound expanding as keyboards, drums and a swell of woodwinds fill the Paramount space.

“Newsies” sounds and looks great, even when the book becomes laughable, as when Teddy Roosevelt shows up as a Deux Ex Machina in the final moments and Joseph Pulitzer goes from villain to not — with eye-rolling abruptness.

But everything in service of that script is killer, including Jordan Ross’s elaborate period costumes. And boy oh boy, those tumbling passes are “10s” across the board.

 Catey Sullivan is a local freelance writer.

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