Disney’s Newsies - SPAC | 7.13.24
Photo Credit: Michelle DemetilloSmithtown Performing Arts Center is currently presenting Disney’s Newsies from July 13th to August 18th and I had the pleasure of seeing the show opening night and what a treat it was! Newsies chronicles the events surrounding the Newsboys Strike of 1889 in New York City where children were largely utilized for the city’s newspaper distribution. At the time, newsboys would purchase 100 newspapers for 50 cents and sell them individually on the street for a penny; profiting half a cent for each sale. Once one newspaper decided to raise their rate to 60 cents per 100 all others followed suit and led to the newsboys historic strike that severely impacted newspaper distribution in the city.
The show begins with Jack Kelly (the unofficial leader of a group of homeless newsboys in a downtown lodging house) telling his best friend Crutchie about his hope to move out west to start a better life for himself in the show's opening number “Santa Fe - Prologue.” Here, we get our first glimpse of the friendship between the two and the chemistry between Michael Shapiro and Ben Capilets (Jack and Crutchie, respectively) was immediately clear. Vocally, these two set the bar high for the rest of the production and thankfully it was always met! The first company number “Carrying the Banner” saw the newsies preparing for the day and it was an absolute joy to watch. All of the dancing was perfectly in sync, looked absolutely stunning, with consistently strong vocals - which is a challenge with dancing as intense as this. Jack then meets two new guys - Davey and his younger brother Les (played by Will Brennan and Michael Krebo) - who are a little different than Jack and his gang. The two brothers aren’t homeless and have a family to return to, but are out looking to sell papers to help support their family while their father is temporarily out of work. Jack offers to be their partner under the guise of helping them, but also sees an opportunity for himself to make some additional money as well.
As endearing as this all is, the good vibes end quickly as we are then introduced to Joseph Pulitzer (played by Long Island theater veteran Jon Rivera) who is the publisher of the New York World, one of the newspapers the newsies sell. Pulitzer is less than thrilled with the declining performance of his paper and decides to raise the price to offset his losses with very little regard for how this will affect the children that work for him. He lays out his intention in “The Bottom Line” and his secretary takes the opportunity to tell him that this will have a large, negative impact on the kids but Pulitzer remains unfazed. Rivera lives up to every expectation you’d have of him with his smooth-like-butter vocals and he plays a villain exceedingly well! From the way this number is sung to the way he glides across the stage, you know Pulitzer is up to no good.
Before setting up residence at the lodging house, Jack used to be held at a juvenile detention center known as the Refuge and is soon recognized in the streets by Warden Snyder (played by Jason Snair) and he attempts to recapture him. Jack quickly finds refuge - pun fully intended - in a local vaudeville theater where he has been painting backdrops and this is where we meet owner Medda Larkin, played by Becca Martowski. Our introduction to Medda is an exceptionally fun one where she sings the crowd-favorite “That’s Rich” that was met with much appreciation and applause. Martowski floated through this number with grace, showcasing her powerful vocals and comedy much to everyone’s delight. It is here that we also meet Katherine Plumber, a young reporter looking for the next big story to kick off her career. Katherine is played by Courtney O’Shea, another familiar face in the Long Island theater scene. Initially, Katherine didn’t seem too inclined to acknowledge Jack’s flirting, but we do see some sparks fly between them after “I Never Planned On You / Don’t Come A-Knocking” - potentially setting the scene for what’s to come?
I’ll let you see for yourself when you go to see the show! *wink wink*
The next morning when Jack and the rest of the newsies find out that the price of newspapers has increased, all hell breaks loose! Immediately they begin to discuss organizing a strike and Jack pushes to form a union and protest. Katherine sees this development as not only an opportunity to help the boys, but potentially her big break. She decides to cover the strike and O’Shea delivers “Watch What Happens” with ease. It is always a pleasure to hear O’Shea sing and this was certainly no exception - and her diction was spot on too, which is no easy task in a song as wordy as this! Easily a standout for Act 1…and the show as a whole.
News quickly spreads of the unionization and strike, yet some newsies from Brooklyn hesitate to jump on board without the okay from their ‘leader’ Spot Conlon. Needless to say the rest of the newsies weren’t pleased upon hearing this, but Davey steps up and encourages them to protest no matter who else joins them, which leads us to one of the show’s largest numbers “Seize the Day.” This number is a bonafide showstopper! The energy, the choreography, the dancers themselves - everything worked so perfectly and I didn’t want this number to end. Outside of the show, Brennan has a warm heart and a genuine spirit which lends itself well to playing Davey, making for some rather touching moments - truly inspired casting in my opinion. This is arguably my favorite role that I’ve seen him in!
Major kudos to Kevin Burns (playing double duty as this production’s Director and Choreographer) as well as Samantha Free (Music Director) as this number is one of the show’s shining moments. Burns’ choreography was tight and everyone looked good doing it while the vocals remained strong with clear and pronounced harmonies. All too often we see large production numbers where the dancing takes over and vocals get dropped/overlooked and that was not the case here - which is a true testament to the production team as well. Burns and Free clearly understand that all of these components go hand-in-hand and their attention to detail doesn’t go unnoticed.
Photo Credit: Michelle Demetillo(I also had the pleasure of chatting about Newsies with Kevin Burns on The Kyle Petty Show and he shared a rehearsal clip of “Seize the Day” as well! You can find that conversation on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.)
The emotional rollercoaster that is Newsies takes another dip when we see Crutchie be recaptured and returned to the Refuge, and we end Act 1 with a devastated Jack who blames himself for Crutchie being apprehended and for the scene at the protest. Back home, he dreams again of moving far away from this place in “Santa Fe” - sung flawlessly by Shapiro. He has such a beautiful tone to his voice and you’ll want to hit ‘repeat’ on this number before the lights come up at intermission!
Needless to say, there are lots of things that happen around how plotlines are resolved in Act 2 - but I don’t want to give those points away. You’ll have to grab a ticket to find out how things go! However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t note the Act 2 opening number “King of New York” when the tap shoes came out and the entire audience was wowed again!
How does everyone know how to tap?! Is this taught in rehearsals? Did everyone take tap classes before auditioning?
I’ll never understand how naturally others seem to pick this up when a simple two step can leave me flabbergasted. O’Shea was front and center for a good portion of this and showed us that she is more than a singer/actress - she can do it all! The entire company looked perfect and this was a true delight. Capilets also gave us the number “Letter from the Refuge” in Act 2 which was, well…exactly that. His gentle demeanor shines through in this song, prompting me to say ‘awwwww’ out loud; fantastic casting and performance if you ask me.
We say this a lot, but this isn’t one you want to miss! I think Jeffrey Sanzel said it best - there is nothing that actors from New York City can do that we cannot accomplish with the talent here on Long Island. Since writing these reviews for The Kyle Petty Show, I’ve been in awe of the performances I’ve seen on the island and I’m so impressed with what this community has to offer. SPAC’s production of Newsies falls right in line and is easily one of the best shows I’ve seen this year. Congratulations to the cast and crew!
Newsies is running at Smithtown Performing Arts Center from July 13th to August 18th and tickets can be purchased at smithtownpac.org.
Photo Credit: Michelle DemetilloCast:
Jack Kelly - Michael Shapiro
Crutchie - Ben Capilets
Race - Jeremy Cruz
Albert - Bradley Berdecia
Specs - Chris Loeschner
Henry - Dylan Schneider
Finch - Bret Auricchio
Buttons - Anna Moceri
Romeo - Xavier Edmond
Mush - Katy Snair
Katherine Plumber - Courtney O’shea
Morris Delancey/Ensemble - Brandon Belcher
Oscar Delancey/Ensemble - Dante DiGiorgio
Wiesel, mr. jacobi/ensemble - Andrew Lenahan
Davey - Will Brennan
Les - john edwards/michael krebo
Joseph Pulitzer - Jon Rivera
Seitz/Ensemble - liam marsigliano
bunsen/ensemble - james o’connor
Nun/Hannah/Bowery Beauty/Sniper - Katy Trunz
Nunzio, Governor Teddy Roosevelt/Ensemble - Brendan Noble
Snyder/Ensemble - Jason Snair
Medda Larkin - Becca Martowski
Spot Conlon, Bowery Beauty, Splasher/Ensemble - Josie McSwane
Creative Team:
DIRECTOR/Choreographer - Kevin Burns
Music Director - Samantha Free
Production Stage Manager - Dorothy Haszinger
Stage Manager - Abigail Jackowski
Fight Choreographer - James O’Connor
Dance Captain - Josie McSwane
Technical Director - Joseph Castoro
Audio Operators - Dylan Hutchins, Hannah McGuigan
Spot operators - Madeline Dobias, Emily Weaver
Prop Master & Scenic Designer - Michael Mucciolo
Prop Assistant & Assistant Stage Manager - Megan DelMonico
Production Photographer - Michelle Demetillo
