[NEohioPAL] REVIEW: NEWSIES at Canton Players Guild Theatre

[Tom Wachunas]

A Delicious Seizing of the Day

By Tom Wachunas

 

   “... these incredible young men have foundtheir OWN voice, found what’s worth fighting for, and found the courage to teardown the walls of rejection, fear, and failure. This story is for every kid,every adult, who has ever been marginalized, picked last, counted out,underserved, and underrepresented…”  –Jonathan Tisevich, director of the Players Guild’s production of Newsies

   You might thinkthat with the Disney name attached to a big musical production like Newsies (Disney film from 1992; Broadwaydebut in 2012, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, book byHarvey Fierstein), you’re in for a tasty treat of warm-n-fuzzy storytelling.Heavy on sugar, light on protein. Maybe. Rest assured that for this PlayersGuild production, director Jonathan Tisevich certainly respects and preservesthe built-in, sheer fun of the proceedings. That’s the exciting entertainment part. But he’s alsoacutely adept at mining the real potency within the emotional and spiritual ingredientsof the narrative. That’s the equally exciting art part, and he’s served it up in powerful manner with anastonishingly talented cast of 35. 

   In every way, Newsies is a delicious and nourishingtheatrical feast, accompanied by the bright, briskly-paced music from the liveorchestra conducted by Steve Parsons. The towering architecture of the set, designed by Joshua Erichsen, iscomprised of stacked scaffolds and ramps that suggest ramshackle tenements, andare often enchantingly back-lit (lighting by Scott Sutton) to show colored silhouettesof the urban skyline.       

   Set during theNewsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City, Newsiesis the story of Jack Kelly, a 17-year-old newspaper boy (“newsie”) andtalented painter living in and leading a community of fellow newsies, most ofthem orphaned and/or homeless teenagers.  Included in this scruffy band – or family, asJack lovingly insists on calling his cohorts - are disabled friend Crutchie,Davey, and Davey’s younger brother Les, who both joined the ragtag clan aftertheir father became unemployed. When the publisher of the daily World newspaper,Joseph Pulitzer, raised the cost of the newspapers (“papes”) to the boys by adime, it’s a hardship too great to ignore, sending Jack and his troupe intovociferous conniptions of protest, culminating in a city-wide strike.  Meanwhile, Katherine Plumber is a crusadingnewspaper writer who sees Jack as a modern-day David standing up to Pulitzer’sGoliath. She’s intent on reporting the truth, much to the dismay of Pulitzer,who seeks to silence her.

   As Pulitzer, Jim Graysmithrenders a credible portrait of the bullying corporate profiteer. In the song,“The Bottom Line,” he paces about with chilling pomp, his gristly voiceintoning a callous unconcern for the welfare of those who hawk his papes. Instark contrast, Sarah Marie Young brings to her role of Katherine a singingvoice that’s notably sweet and crystalline, yet never too sweet to conveyurgency. It’s perfectly suited to her portrayal of genuine tenderness temperedby a steely determination to connect with the resilient newsies and tell theirstory. 

   They in turn, asdelightfully presented by this cast, are an inspired and inspiring bunch ofdistinct personalities at once eccentric, goofy, charming and impassioned. Theyinclude, among many others, Donathan Dillard, as the hapless, endearingCrutchie; Matt Rivera as the would-be ladies’ man, Romeo; Zachary Charlick asthe impish, cigar-chomping Race; Joe Brenkle as the philosophical big brotherDavey, whose impressionable and feisty little brother, Les, played by10-year-old Zachary May, turns in some very funny one-liners and wise-cracks. Inthe big choral numbers such as “The World Will Know,” “Seize The Day,” “King OfNew York,” and “Once And For All,” this motley crew can sound downright heroicif not angelic, soaring in tight, sumptuous harmonies.  

   Surely the charismaticcenter of the action is in the character of Jack, played by Sean Fleming. He’sa riveting presence, fraught with both vulnerability and streetwise swagger(his New Yoo-uck accent is poifect), caught between his persistent dream ofmoving away to Sante Fe, seeing his daunting fight against Pulitzer through tothe end, and what turns out to be a predictable enough romance with Katherine,as so poignantly displayed in their second act duet, “Something To Believe In.”His singing voice is particularly mesmerizing in the way he judiciouslyincorporates his gently plaintive vibrato. Additionally, to his trulyremarkable dancing skills he brings not just the required athletic prowess, buta balletic refinement as well.

    And that brings to mind another major “character”in this mix, which is indeed the intricate and often hilariously inventivechoreography by Michael Lawrence Akers. It may well be the most splendid andsprawling he’s ever brought to the Guild stage, implanting the entireproduction with an electrifying heartbeat. Akers has turned the newsies into a well-oileddancing machine (pure sweat can do that), strutting their stuff with dazzlingaplomb. These fearless folks were clearly prepared not just for the occasionalsprint, but for a full-out marathon that propelled them through several show-stoppingnumbers in an infectious spirit of indefatigable ebullience.

   In the end, you’llfind no fake news here. Only real, commanding art.

 

   NEWSIES,The Broadway Musical / THROUGH OCTOBER 7, 2018,  at CantonPlayers Guild Theatre Mainstage, Cultural Center for the Arts, 1001 Market Ave.N, Canton /  Shows at 8 p.m. Friday andSaturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday - an additional 8 p.m. show on Oct. 7.

TICKETS: $32 adults, $25 ages 17 and younger, $29 seniors.Order at

https://www.playersguildtheatre.com/newsies  and330-453-7617

   For other reviewsand commentaries by Tom Wachunas on the performing and visual arts in theCanton area, please visit his blog, ARTWACH, at www.artwach.blogspot.com
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