Cabaret Scenes Theatre Review

I’ve been seeing shows at Paper Mill Playhouse since the 1970s. I don’t recall ever seeing a new musical (as opposed to a revival) debut at the theater with the interest and good buzz that Newsies (based on the Disney film written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White) has generated.

I enjoyed Newsies, directed by Jeff Calhoun, far more than most new musicals I’ve seen at Paper Mill. And, despite some reservations, I enjoyed it far more than most shows that have opened on Broadway in recent years, including such Disney shows as Tarzan and The Little Mermaid. The production values are first-rate. Tobin Ost’s multi-level set is great. Christopher Gattelli’s high-flying choreography is sensational. (I’'d love to see the show again just for the dancing.) The score, by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman, is appealingly melodic and varied; the book by Harvey Fierstein is a marked improvement upon the seriously flawed original film script, although it still slows down in the second half. It’s a show for all ages, not just kids. Jeremy Jordan is excellent in the leading role—a newsboy organizing a strike in New York City in 1899. And Andrew Keenan-Bolger is so endearing as his crippled sidekick, Crutchie—he helps give the show its heart—I wish he were given more to do. (Because of Crutchie’s prominence at the start of the show, it’s surprising he’s not featured more later, especially since he’s the show’s best symbol of the newsboys’ vulnerability in the world.) John Dossett, playing the newspaper magnate trying to crush the newsboys, is a fine actor, but he’s got such innate warmth and likeability, he’s more sympathetic than the villain ideally should be. Fierstein has wisely created a new character, Katherine— nicely played by Kara Lindsay—to add a love interest, and to give young girls in the audience someone to identify with. Katherine’s good ideas help the newsboys, a touch that one of my young nieces liked.

The show would work better if more of the newsboys appeared younger, smaller, slighter—we are supposed to fear for their safety when the cops come after them—but if some of the actors playing newsboys on stage appear to be men who could beat the middle-aged cops in a fair fight, we lose some of that rooting-for-the-underdog spirit that we’re supposed to feel. Afterall, the show is about kids standing up to the establishment. One plot element I didn’t much care for in the film script or this script is the leading character’s ambivalence; the story asks the audience to commit to a hero who seems less than fully committed to his cause. If the creators want to keep tweaking the show, I think they could make it better. But if it were to transfer to Broadway “as is,” I think it would find an audience. The strengths outweigh the flaws. And the best production numbers are spectacular.

(Pictured: Jeremy Jordan and the “Newsies.” Photo by T. Charles Erickson)

Chip Deffaa
Cabaret Scenes
September 25, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org



	Newsies Paper Mill Playhouse Millburn, NJ
I’ve been seeing shows at Paper Mill Playhouse since the 1970s. I don’t recall ever seeing a new musical (as opposed to a revival) debut at the theater with the interest and good buzz that Newsies (based on the Disney film written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White) has generated. I enjoyed Newsies, directed by Jeff Calhoun, far more than most new musicals I’ve seen at Paper Mill. And, despite some reservations, I enjoyed it far more than most shows that have opened on Broadway in recent years, including such Disney shows as Tarzan and The Little Mermaid. The production values are first-rate. Tobin Ost’s multi-level set is great. Christopher Gattelli’s high-flying choreography is sensational. (I’'d love to see the show again just for the dancing.) The score, by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman, is appealingly melodic and varied; the book by Harvey Fierstein is a marked improvement upon the seriously flawed original film script, although it still slows down in the second half. It’s a show for all ages, not just kids. Jeremy Jordan is excellent in the leading role—a newsboy organizing a strike in New York City in 1899. And Andrew Keenan-Bolger is so endearing as his crippled sidekick, Crutchie—he helps give the show its heart—I wish he were given more to do. (Because of Crutchie’s prominence at the start of the show, it’s surprising he’s not featured more later, especially since he’s the show’s best symbol of the newsboys’ vulnerability in the world.) John Dossett, playing the newspaper magnate trying to crush the newsboys, is a fine actor, but he’s got such innate warmth and likeability, he’s more sympathetic than the villain ideally should be. Fierstein has wisely created a new character, Katherine— nicely played by Kara Lindsay—to add a love interest, and to give young girls in the audience someone to identify with. Katherine’s good ideas help the newsboys, a touch that one of my young nieces liked. The show would work better if more of the newsboys appeared younger, smaller, slighter—we are supposed to fear for their safety when the cops come after them—but if some of the actors playing newsboys on stage appear to be men who could beat the middle-aged cops in a fair fight, we lose some of that rooting-for-the-underdog spirit that we’re supposed to feel. Afterall, the show is about kids standing up to the establishment. One plot element I didn’t much care for in the film script or this script is the leading character’s ambivalence; the story asks the audience to commit to a hero who seems less than fully committed to his cause. If the creators want to keep tweaking the show, I think they could make it better. But if it were to transfer to Broadway “as is,” I think it would find an audience. The strengths outweigh the flaws. And the best production numbers are spectacular. (Pictured: Jeremy Jordan and the “Newsies.” Photo by T. Charles Erickson) Chip Deffaa Cabaret Scenes September 25, 2011 www.cabaretscenes.org

Newsies

Paper Mill PlayhouseMillburn, NJ

Paper Mill Playhouse
Millburn, NJ