Curtain Call Creative’s production of Newsies, Jr., based on the full-length 2011 musical, which was in turn based on the 1992 Disney film, was a whirlwind of energy from start to finish.
Packed with rousing production numbers like ‘Seize The Day’, ‘King of New York’ and ‘Once And For All’, this is not a show this reviewer knew well – in fact, she had only ever heard one song from it! – but she went home humming several of these catchy Alan Menken tunes.
Newsies, Jr. is based on the strike by the newsboys and newgirls of New York in 1899 following an unfair rise in wholesale newspaper costs. The musical follows ringleader Jack Kelly as he rallies his fellow Newsies, supported by reporter Katherine Plumber, to bring about change. These characters may be fictional, but the strike was real, and it certainly gave the musical a different pathos to see the Newsies played by actual young people – it hit harder for that.
Noah Walker-Green as Jack Kelly was fantastic, and is one to watch for the future, without question. His distinctive characterisation and strong vocals made him a brilliant choice for Jack, giving cheekiness and charm in abundance. A show like this hinges on Jack being believably charismatic enough that a whole city of Newsies follow him into ‘battle’, and there was no doubt of that here.
Opposite him as Katherine Plumber was Matilda Squibb, and what a voice! Her performance of ‘Watch What Happens’ was fantastic, and you could see not just Katherine’s confidence but also Matilda’s blossoming from the start of the number to the end as she navigated complex lyrics and musical passages.
A standout performance came from Polly Careless as Crutchie, who – as the nickname suggests – walks, and therefore dances, with a crutch. All credit to this young performer for adapting the choreography so brilliantly, keeping the shapes and impact of the moves without ever once compromising her characterisation. Her vocals, too, were excellent, particularly in the emotive solo number ‘Letter From The Refuge.’
Freddie Nixon and Jake Cross as brothers Davey and Les were a memorable pair – Freddie’s angelic voice, Jake’s boundless stage presence made them a great duo, and their interactions with Noah’s Jack gave some really memorable moments.
The supporting cast as a whole were strong, with special mention to the turns given by Thomas Dangerfield as Pulitzer, Evie Bray as Medda, and to Maisie Walker-Green, Sunshine Lorenz, Bali Harris, Etta Newnham and Nell Shipley as featured Newsies Muriel, Jojo, Nancy, Pigtails and Hazel.
The challenge with reviewing this production of Newsies, Jr. is that it is impossible to mention every single character by name within the word count: there were over 40 young performers, many of them featured and all of them clearly loving every second, whether they were theatre backing dancers or street tappers, ‘bruisers’ or office assistants. What a credit to Curtain Call Creative and to the team behind Newsies, Jr. that they were able to deliver this show with minimal role doubling. Every single youngster involved should be so very proud of their performance, and how pleasing it was to see so many performers never switching off, whether they were front and centre or providing background acting support.
Director and Assistant Director Katie and Rob Walker-Green are to be congratulated for once again encouraging such enthusiasm and excitement from these young performers, and credit too must go to the creative team alongside them, comprising Andrew Woodford and Indra Riches as MD and Vocal Coach, Louis Harris, Esme Barclay-Jay and Jemima Rees on choreography. I have seen a lot of youth productions this year, and it never fails to make me smile to see them given such brilliant opportunities that will not only shape their futures, whether or not they choose to pursue it as a career, but will also secure the continued future of theatre within our Island community.
