It’s 1899 in New York City and wealthy newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer decides to improve his bottom line by raising the price that newspaper boys must pay to buy bundles of “papes”, which they in turn sell on street corners to passers-by. This price increase means disaster for the Newsies, most of them orphans who live on the streets and barely scrape by as it is. The Newsies, led by the charismatic young Jack Kelly, decide to form a union and go on strike. But Pulitzer doesn’t intend to let a few kids get the best of him.
Joseph Pulitzer (Kent Suggs) is determined to improve his bottom line, at the expense of the Newsies, while his secretary and business associates look on
The Candlelight Dinner Playhouse is closing its successful 10th season with Newsies, which will run on weekends from June 28 to August 26, 2018.
Newsies: The Broadway Musical is based on the 1992 movie Newsies, which starred Christian Bale as Jack.
The musical version debuted on Broadway in 2012, with a script by Harvey Fierstein, music by Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid), and lyrics by Jack Feldman. It won a Tony for Best Musical Score.
Logan Traver as Jack Kelly sings of his dream to move to Santa Fe to Crutchy (Ben Welch)
The music certainly carries Newsies along brilliantly, from the haunting “Santa Fe” which is Jack’s theme – he wants nothing more than to start a new life in that city’s wide-open spaces – to “Carrying the Banner”, the Newsies’ proud paean to their ill-paid profession, to “Seize the Day,” when the Newsies go on strike.
For this production, director Pat Payne has integrated several newcomers into the Candlelight Company – all the Newsies are in their early teens.
Logan Traver, for example, is making his Candlelight debut as Jack, in a role that initially may be seen as unsympathetic. He takes two new boys – Davey and Les – under his wing, because Les is very young and Jack sees that he’ll be able to parlay his gamin charm into selling more papers.
But his character develops throughout the action as he deals with his growing feelings for a newspaper reporter named Katherine Plumber (Harmony Livingston), who wants to give the Newsies the publicity they need for their strike, but who is not what she seems.
Davey and Les are actually the catalyst for the strike – their father was disabled while on the job, and because he did not belong to a union, and received no compensation for his injury, the two sons now have to support the family. Ben Griffin as Davey possesses a fine voice, Tyler Fruhwirth as Les is appropriately “cute but tough.”
The Newsies dance their determination
The Newsies sing and dance their way defiantly through their strike, with the Manhattan contingent desperately seeking the support of the kids from the other boroughs, battling would-be strike breakers and even the police.
The choreography is by Mathew D. Peters, who last choreographed West Side Story for the Candlelight, and who has been nominated for several awards for his work.
The Newsies go on strike
Candlelight regular Kent Suggs (the serious Governor/comic Innkeeper in Man of La Mancha and the doddery Maurice in Beauty and the Beast) plays the unsympathetic Pulitzer, while David L. Wygant is his nemesis, the governor of New York – the charming yet forceful Teddy Roosevelt.
While Newsies deals with serious issues – the greed of the wealthy, the potential power of unions, what happens to people without social programs to act as a “safety net” – it’s also a lot of fun with a rousing finale.
Collectible
In those musicals that are likely to have an audience with lots of young people, the Candlelight frequently offers a souvenir for sale – a multi-colored rose for Beauty and the Beast, for example. For Newsies, they have on offer newsboy caps like the ones worn by the cast.
The Food
The menu is a fun “newsheet”. Inside are the selections, as well as a few games for the kids
Offerings, included in the ticket price, continued the tradition of being something that one might eat in 1899 New York. In the appetizer category were pretzels and cheese, pierogies, lox (a bagel topped with cream cheeese, smoked salmon and capers) or deli sliders.
Entrees: Slow cooked roast beef topped with a red wine demi glaze,chicken breast topped with a spinach and mushroom cream sauce, fried cod fillet served with tartar sauce, Margarita pizza, and strawberry salad.
Premium offers are Candelight’s signature grilled prime rib, crab ravioli, or grilled swordfish.
Dessert: Bourbon bread pudding, classic New York Cheese Cake, cannoli, salded caramel pretzel brownie, “Big Apple” pie, and ice cream. Or there was Pulitzer’s Prize – a “root beer float for the big kids (containing alcohol).
Fun!
Absolutely delicious,melt-in-your-mouth roast beef and piping hot potatoes with brown gravy. Sadly, came with the ubiquitous green beans. (How about some corn, people!)
Fried cod, new potatoes, and green beans. Also delicious
Dessert – two large cannolis stuffed with house-mixed cannoli filling dipped in pistachios. Inset, classic New York cheese cake
The Company
- Jack – Logan Traver
- Crutchie – Ben Welch
- Race – Cole Emarine
- Albert – Chris Bain
- Specs – Colter Schmidt
- Henry/Spot – Broc Timmerman
- Finch -Leo Battle
- Romeo – Hugh Butterfield
- Tommy Boy – Cory Michael Klements
- Mush – Eric Ellis
- Ike – Grace Wygant
- Kaatherine Plumber – Harmony Livingston
- Wiesel – Elliot Clough
- Morris Delancey – Andy Seracuse
- Oscar Delancey – Austin Mirsoltani
- Davey – Ben Griffin
- Les – Tyler Frugwirth or Hayden McDonald
- Pulitzer – Kent Sugg
- Teddy Roosevelt/ Nunzio/Cop – David Wygant
- Mr. Jacobi/ Cop – Ethan Knowles
- Snyder – Stephen Charles Turner
- Hannah – Heather McClain
- Medda Larkin – Samantha Jo Staggs
- Ensembe – Susanna Houdesheldt, Sarah Grover, Sara Kowalski
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(Swing – Eric Heine)
The Orchestra
- Piano/ Conductor – Phil Forman
- Trombone – Ben Bontrager, Josh Ceciliani
- Reeds – Gabriella Bliss
- Trumpet – Josh Margheim
- Percussion – John Meriwether
- Bass – Ori Bitton, Jason Lenz
- Violin – David Lyon
