Seize the Day!

Papermill Playhouse - Millburn, NJ

In creating its newest screen-to-stage production, Disney dug deep into their vast film vault and pulled out Newsies, a notorious 1992 flop directed by Kenny Ortega and starring a young Christian Bale. The film was very poorly received and lost a ton of money. However, over the years, it not only gained a cult following, but the score (written by 8 time Oscar winner Alan Menken) managed to endure. The song Santa Fe, in particular, became a cabaret standard. It turns out that of all the films in the Disney cannon, Newsies is the one most requested as a stage show. Disney finally gave in to demand and has produced a 6 week "experimental" production at the Papermill Playhouse, the nation's top regional theater. As of this moment, there are no further productions planned beyond this one, but that's likely to change.



You see, Disney has managed to do the almost unthinkable and improve significantly on the source material, mostly thanks to the efforts of its creative team. Menken and Jack Feldman were retained, and wrote a series of new songs for the show. While these new songs are not as strong as the anthems from the film, they mostly serve their purpose. Then I See You Again (sung on a fire escape, with staging eerily similar to a famous scene in West Side Story) is a gorgeous ballad sung by the show's two protagonists. However, The News is Getting Better, a song for the show's villain (a campy John Dossett) doesn't do much to advance the plot and stops the show cold...for the wrong reasons. Nevertheless, the ensemble numbers feature incredibly catchy tunes you'll be humming for days. I myself have been walking around singing Seize the Day since Friday.

Noni White and Bob Tzudiker, the authors of the screenplay now only retain a Playbill credit, as Broadway vet (and Tony winner) Harvey Fierstein was brought in to clarify the story and revise the book. It's one of his better efforts. He wisely jettisons the character of Sarah (whose romantic interests in Jack always seemed contrived in the film), and replaces her with Katherine (Kara Lindsay, in a nice debut), a freelance reporter who falls for Jack, the leader of the newsies (Jeremy Jordan, in a star-making performance)...but has a secret of her own. Fierstein also wisely fleshes out the other "newsies", giving them more of a backstory, particular Crutchie (Disney veteran Andrew Keenan-Bolger). His one misstep may have been writing the character of Joseph Pulitzer as way too broad of a villain (so broad that it goes way past cliche and into caricature territory).

Together, Fierstein, Menkin, and Edwards keep the show moving at a pretty fast clip, though they made the odd decision to open the show with a quiet, introspective version of Santa Fe (as opposed to the belty version of the song that closes act 1). This does nothing but bore the audience from the getgo. A show like this needs to open with a big, flashy, musical number. The show's second song, Carrying the Banner, serves that purpose and really should open the show. Jack's desire to leave the city (conveyed in Santa Fe) can wait until after the opening number.

Christopher Gattelli had the unenviable task of restaging the film's dance numbers (which were always regarded as the film's greatest assets). He succeeds in spades, partially because of the talented male ensemble, which features some of Broadway's top dancers with the likes of Ryan Steele, Kyle Coffman, Aaron Albano, and Andy Richardson. Gattelli's choreography features a series of leaps, tumbles, somersaults, and everything else you could possibly imagine. The early numbers are staged in front of a giant scaffold, which limits just how acrobatic the numbers can be. Fortunately, that problem is rectified by the time we get to Seize the Day, which is when the show really soars for the first time. Gattelli uses his dancers' many talents, and stages King of New York as a tap dance, led by Jordan and Lindsay (another smart choice). Director Jeff Calhoun wisely recognized that this is a show that needs to move along at a fast pace, and he keeps the action of the show moving. There is little time to reflect here, but that's all right. This is a show that doesn't need much reflection. Calhoun makes use of the multi-level set, and is able to create the effect of a chase numerous times in the show, all of which are quite effective.

Jeremy Jordan

The evening belongs to the incredibly talented Jeremy Jordan, however, whose career is poised to explode this year between headlining Newsies and Bonnie & Clyde on Broadway this winter. Jordan is giving an outstanding performance as the leader of the newsies, Jack Kelly. I've seen Jordan in two shows prior to this one (as Tony in West Side Story and Drew in Rock of Ages), and he does not disappoint as Jack Kelly. The minute he sings the final verse of Santa Fe, he vanquishes any memories one might have of Christian Bale. Jordan's voice soars through that ballad. He manages to bring just the right amount of youthful angst to the character, and his restlessness conveys his sense of outrage at the injustice he rails against. Jordan also gets several opportunities to show his skills as a dancer, which he proves he can do quite well. Jack Kelly is the anchor of the show, and ultimately, Newsies as a musical will succeed or fail based on how well this actor can carry the show. Jordan, with his charisma, presence, and voice, takes the entire show on his back and elevates the cast and the material to a level it hitherto never would have achieved.

Kara Lindsay succeeds as Katherine, and nails her song, where she struggles with her romantic feelings for Jack and her desire to be an objective reporter. Lindsay also possesses a strong voice, and she and Jordan sound gorgeous together on the aforementioned Then I See You Again. Less successful is Ben Fankheiser, who plays Davey, the newest member of the newsies. Fankheiser ignores Davey's angst (surprising, since Fankheiser just spent a year playing an angsty teenager in the Spring Awakening tour) and instead plays him as incredibly whiny. His younger brother Les (played by an annoying Vincent Agnello at the performance I attended) also comes across as an "along for the ride" character with no real purpose. Tony nominee (and Jersey native) John Dossett plays Joseph Pulitzer, the show's villain. He's way over the top, to the point that it's as if he's in a completely different show than everyone else. When you're the only one in the cast camping it up (in a show that doesn't cry out for camp), it sticks out, and Dossett looks ridiculous. Granted, he's not helped by the writing, but he seemed intent on chewing as much of the scenery as he could, and really needs to be reigned in.

Ultimately, however, Disney and Papermill have a huge crowd pleaser on their hands, with a leading performance that's sure to have people saying "I knew him when..."

See Mike's thoughts on Newsies here.