Jeri Tidwell Photography
Disney’s Newsies has come a long way since it first debuted — and flopped — as a movie musical in 1992, which eventually developed a major cult following (thanks in part to the casting of a young Christian Bale in the lead role of Jack Kelly) and became a Tony Award winning Broadway musical before hitting the road on a national tour. The Broadway and touring version of the show are huge spectacles with quite an amazing set (and you can read more about that version in our review of the 2015 tour), so one has to wonder how the show will translate to such an intimate space as Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, MD.
If you’re not familiar with the story, it is based on the real newsboys’ strike of 1899 in New York City after the ‘newsies’ were basically getting screwed by the newspaper publishers including Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. The boys had been charged 50 cents per 100 papers, but Pulitzer decided to make more money he would charge them 60 cents overnight, without any warning which meant the boys would have to sell more papers to earn the same amount of money, and that didn’t sit well with them. In the story, Jack Kelly became a leader of the newsies and with the help of a newcomer named Davey, they formed a sort of rudimentary union and eventually got all the newsies in all the boroughs of New York to join them, essentially halting distribution of all the cities newspapers until a new deal was struck. The show also adds a bit of romance as Jack begins to fall for a reporter who writes under the name Katherine Plumber, but she may not be who Jack thinks she is.
It’s an interesting bit of history which when it was first released as a movie was just a bit of musical entertainment. The Broadway show was also entertaining with the added wow factor of some truly amazing dancing, and now the scaled down version at Toby’s is equally impressive but it’s also become relatable to events transpiring right now. In this bit of history, we have a group of teenagers who brought about change by banding together and fighting the system that dismissed them as a bunch of kids who needed the papers more than the papers needed them. Today we have a group of teenagers who have banded together in the wake of a tragedy to fight the system that keeps trying to dismiss them as just a bunch of kids who aren’t mature enough to know what they’re doing, but as history has proven, we can’t discount the power that come with great passion for a cause worth fighting for. It’s not hard to see the Parkland, Florida students as spiritual kin to the New York newsboys. And, as Miss Whitney Houston sang, ‘I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way.’
Jeri Tidwell Photography
And leading the way in Toby’s production of Newsies is Matt Hirsh as Jack Kelly. Hirsh, who has appeared in several previous Toby’s productions and a Helen Hayes Award winner for his performance in Catch Me If You Can with the NextStop Theatre Company, has charisma to spare as the show’s focal point. He projects a believable sincerity as he becomes the newsies’ leader and he goes through a wide range of emotions during the course of the show, highs and lows. And he has a beautiful voice. Mr. Hirsh has a long, successful career ahead of him.
Making his Toby’s debut, Harrison Smith is also terrific as Davey, the newsie who becomes Jack’s counsel in helping him with the details of forming a union. Davey also becomes a central figure as Jack becomes disillusioned with the strike after a violent incident injures many of the boys and sends his best friend Crutchy to a sort of home for wayward boys. Smith also gets some powerful numbers and being so close to the performers, you can see the pure emotion on his face. Taylor Witt is also terrific as Crutchy, a tough role that’s equal parts comic relief and pathos, and again Witt imparts every emotion with his face and body language. That holds true for the entire cast. There is no one here just phoning it it. This is a physically demanding show and unless you’re giving it your all, you’ll stand out like a sore thumb. There are no sore thumbs in this production.
Jeri Tidwell Photography
With such a large cast, aside from the leads, it’s hard to give each and every performer the kudos they deserve, so I have to just tip my hat to everyone who sets foot on that stage, from all the newsies to the featured players like Russell Sunday as Pulitzer and MaryKate Brouillet as Katherine. But I do have to say a few words about two performers who do steal their scenes. Toby’s veteran, and 2002 Helen Hayes Award winner for the musical SPUNK, has the small role of Medda Larkin, a performer who lets the newsies use her theatre to hold their rally. She only gets one number, ‘That’s Rich’, but she uses that time for all its worth, giving off some serious Audra McDonald vibes. She is fantastic (and I half-joked with the show’s director that she’d be perfect as Ursula in Toby’s upcoming production of The Little Mermaid). And I have to give a special shout out to Cooper Trump who plays Davey’s little brother Les (Cooper alternates with Tyler Smallwood). Cooper steals the spotlight from everyone when he speaks, and his amazing acrobatic skills had our audience cheering louder than I’ve ever heard an audience cheer at Toby’s. And this is his first show ever! Hopefully he’s enjoying the experience and will be seen on the stage in more productions.
As for the show’s production, there was no way Toby’s would be able to duplicate the massive set in the original show, but they have done a great job using all four of the upper level stages as well as using a large sectional piece that rolls on and off the stage, representing the top of the show’s original three storey set. Directors Toby Orenstein & Mark Minnick manage to keep all pieces flowing smoothly while choreographer Ilona Kessell does a fantastic job replicating some of the original choreography into such a confined area with more than a dozen dancers leaping about from all directions. They all deserve heaps of praise. All of the technical aspects of the show are very impressive including David A. Hopkins’ scenic design, Lynn Johnson’s lighting, Janine Sunday’s costumes, the wigs by Tommy Malek, and the sound design by Mark Smedley. And we can’t forget the always impressive six-piece orchestra lead alternately by Ross Scott Rawlings, Greg Knauf, or Reenie Codelka.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the food as well. Toby’s always has some delicious food for the dinner crowd (as well as the brunch for the matinees), but they have outdone themselves with this production. Many of the Toby’s favorites are here including the salad bar, Spinach Phunque, baked fish and carving station, but the new additions of the Bronx Beef Burgundy, Plumber’s Potatoes and Brooklyn Broccoli Blend with tricolor cauliflower were highlights. And each show has a specialty drink. This time out Toby’s offers The Bottom Line which is an Oreo cookie milkshake that can be spiced up for the adults with a bit of vanilla vodka. It’s yummy!
Jeri Tidwell Photography
If you’ve seen Newsies on a big Broadway-style stage, do yourself a favor and take in a production of the show at Toby’s. You may have been impressed by the spectacle of the original production, but the intimacy of this production is sure to impress you. And it’s suitable for all ages, so do bring your kids and perhaps they’ll be inspired as well.
Newsies runs about 2 hours 30 minutes with one twenty minute intermission. Note that fog, haze and strobe effects are used in this production. The show runs through June 10, 2018. Toby’s next production is Mamma Mia opening June 15.
Check our Ticketmaster link for ticket availability.
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