The Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor opened the 2018-19 season on Sept. 6 with their production of Disney’s Newsies.
Set in New York City in 1899, the play opens at dawn with newspaper delivery boy (newsie), Jack Kelly [Rob Ryan], telling his friend, Crutchie [Ted Braun], about how he wishes for a new life for himself outside of Manhattan and across the country in Santa Fe.
The two break out into the opening number, ‘Santa Fe (Prologue)’ and it sets the tone for the rest of the show; the boys are hoping for better lives outside of the hardships of the big city.
As the day begins, all of the rest of the ‘newsies’ arise, and you realize that Jack lives with all of the other boys and they are all orphaned and homeless. The entire cast of newsies break out in song and dance for ‘Carrying the Banner.’
Through the incredible work of choreographer, Koren ‘KZ’ Zander, the entire cast was so in sync throughout the entire production, ‘Carrying the Banner,’ led the way for instant success throughout the rest of the show.
Following the cast performance, the newsies head over to buy their daily supply of papers to sell to make their living wage. Two new boys appear, Davey [Sean Dickinson] and his younger brother, Les [Camryn Burniston]. The boys are different from the rest of the newsies. They not only have a home, but both of their parents as well. It seems that their father has recently lost his job, and the boys have decided to put their schooling on hold while they go out and make some money for their family.
Jack sees the younger brother, Les and offers to help the two boys sell their papers. He thinks that Les could help him sell more on account of him being so youthful. The two agree to split the profits 60/40 and Jack takes them under his wing.
The scene changes and we are now in the offices of Joseph Pulitzer [Peter Sauer], the publisher of the ‘New York World’ newspaper. Sauer gives a nice rendition of, ‘The Bottom Line,’ while his character, Pulitzer decides to increase the cost of newspapers for the delivery boys in an attempt to outsell his competitors.
The scene changes once again, and we are now back out on the streets of Manhattan and the day is ending as Jack helps his new apprentices sell their final few papers. A man appears, and Jack immediately tells the boys to run. Chased through the streets, the boys eventually take shelter in a theater owned by a friend of Jack’s, Medda Larkin.
Jack explains that the man chasing them is Warden Snyder of The Refuge, a juvenile detention center. Snyder wants to place all of the orphaned newsies into the center to take them off the streets.
Now hiding in the theater, the boys are greeted by Medda [Mimi B. Francis]. She tells the boys to stay for a while and that she is about to go on. Performing, ‘That’s Rich,’ Francis hits some pretty high notes as the audience erupted in applause for the actress.
After the conclusion of her performance, Jack notices a young female reporter, who works for the New York Sun, by the name of Katherine Plumber [Bridget Hughes], sitting in a balcony of the theater. Attempting to talk to her, she brushes him off while he draws a lifelike portrait of her. Giving it to her, Jack leaves and we can see the shock on her face.
The next morning, the newsies arrive to buy their share of daily papers. Placing down their 50 cents for a hundred papers, like they do every other day, the paper distributor laughs in their face. He informs them that the price for papers has now increased by 10 cents and it is now 60 cents per hundred.
Jack, along with all of the other newsies, are livid. The newsies begin to protest, and it eventually leads to them all going on strike. The number, ‘The World Will Know,’ is like one of the opening numbers, ‘Carrying the Banner.’ Along with the ensemble of vocals, the choreographing was once again, astounding.
Katherine Plumber, the reporter from the day prior, gets wind of the boy’s strike. In attempt to break out of the entertainment field, Plumber wants to write a hard news story about the boy’s strike.
The boys explain to her how important the strike really is for them. Between being orphaned and homeless, delivering the paper is their only purpose and only way of an income. The story, that she feels has front page potential, could be really big for their protest. They need her to come through.
The scene changes and we are now in Katherine’s study. It’s night and she is sitting at her typewriter. It’s evident that she has writer’s block, and the importance of the story is now really dawning on her. Breaking out into song, Hughes as Katherine performs her solo, ‘Watch What Happens.’
The next morning the boys are starting to feel discouraged by their efforts to strike. The hardships of the protest are really starting to get to them, and Jack needs to encourage them all to keep up what they are doing.
Failing to do so, Davey steps in and tries to lift their spirits. Rallying them all together, he tells them they need to prepare for a full-fledged strike against the New York World. The newsies once again perform a group number, ‘Seize the Day,’ and the song is mixed in with the scene of them actually protesting.
Their strike gets cut short when the police and strikebreakers enter the stage and start assaulting the newsies. The boys start to run, but Crutchie, who is not as fast as the rest of them, gets beaten, captured and hauled off to the refuge.
Jack is forced to watch this all happen in front of him, while he is unable to do anything. He vows to himself that he will soon leave New York altogether. The first act closes with Jack singing a reprise of ‘Santa Fe.’
Honorable Mention:
Throughout the entire production, live music was played for not only every single song, but the entire score of the play as well from the orchestra. This was my favorite part of the show, and I feel that each member deserves to be named:
Francois Suhr, piano/conductor. Mike Gilch, keyboard. Rowan Hyan Jin Eo, violin. Mia Angelella, cello. Eric Lampmann, reeds. Marty Weisberg, trumpet. Terry Chesnovitz, trombone. Matt Troyano, guitar. Aaron Allen, drums. Samuel Ferrante, percussion. Andrew Rosciszewski, bass.
“Disney’s Newsies,” continues at Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, through Sept. 16. For tickets and information, go to www.kelseyatmccc.org; 609-570-3333.