By Marilyn Jozwik
Everybody loves an underdog story. And when those underdogs are exploited kids in New York City doing battle with big names in the corporate world, you’ve got quite the story. It’s the story of “Newsies,” Sunset Playhouse’s latest musical offering.
The year is 1899 and the city’s “papes,” as the city’s young newspaper sellers call them, are owned by Pulitzer (Jonathan R. Nass) and Hearst, who make their fortunes on the backs of homeless and other needy kids who sell their newspapers, earning barely enough to survive. When the price newsies pay for the papers goes up, their unofficial leader, Jack Kelly (Jacob Cesar), decides it’s more than the newsies can take. With the help of newcomer newsies, brothers Davey and Les Jacobs (Aaron Jackson and Nolan Zellermayer), as well as Katherine (Krista Laszewski), a sympathetic reporter (and Jack’s love interest), the kids form a de facto union and are able to broadcast their plight, getting the big shots to back down.
Director Tommy Lueck has assembled a mostly young cast of incredibly talented youngsters who fill the stage with tons of energy and verve as the ragtag newsies bring their fight right to the suits in their plush offices.
Cesar as Jack Kelly is the pivot point for the show. Besides being the go-to guy for his cohorts, Jack is the best buddy and guardian angel of Crutchie (Clayton R. Irwin), who needs a crutch to maneuver selling papes on his bum leg. Cesar nicely executes a Brooklyn accent, and embodies the spunk and passion of Jack.
But this show is all about the stirring anthems for the newsies’ cause, with heart-pounding music and sharp, athletic dancing in tunes like “Carry the Banner,” “The World Will Know,” “Seize the Day” and the tap-happy “King of New York.” This Sunset group doesn’t miss a beat and doesn’t miss any opportunity to impress in both song and dance.
The promotional material for the show shows a young newsie airborne, doing an amazing dance move. It’s not an exaggeration. The cast executes a bagful of terpsichorean tricks – ballet spins, kung fu like kicks, stage-filling cartwheels, high-flying leaps, even dancing on newspapers and a nifty paper tossing sequence – with effortless ease and incredible energy and engagement that are all impeccably synchronized. Abby Rasmussen choreographed the show. And while the entire cast was wonderful, Amy Brandel and Mason Hanizeski added something extra to their performances.
The dancing alone would make this a great show, but there are also some musical highlights under Mark Mrozek’s direction and six-piece orchestra.
Ceci Corinne Rodriguez as Jack’s friend and vaudeville performer, Medda Larkin, delivered a rousing “That’s Rich,” even though her mike lost power in the performance we saw, while Laszewski navigated the fast-paced “Watch What Happens” beautifully and matches Cesar’s Jack nicely in song and passionate demeanor.
Ceci Corinne Rodriguez as Medda Larkin in Sunset Playhouse’s “Newsies.”
The elaborate multi-layered set provides lots of (literal) jumping off points for this dynamic group. The scene with the huge “working” printing press that produced the newsies’ own story and then their subsequent dissemination was a thrilling highlight in a show filled with extras.
If you go
Who: Sunset Playhouse
What: “Disney Newsies: The Broadway Musical”
When: Through Aug. 7
Where: 800 Elm Grove Road, Elm Grove
Tickets/Info: 262-782-4430