Disney’s touring production of Newsies was possibly the best musical about the newsboys’ strike of 1899 to be staged at the Marcus Center in a long time. Young men in form-fitting dance outfits tumbled and twirled while demanding to be paid fairly. Presumably once things got copacetic, they would settle down, take it easy on the acrobatics and get back to selling papers to passing strangers. It’s just so hard to imagine why they were worrying about pay when they were just so goshdarn good at singing and dancing and doing gymnastics.
It’s easy enough to laugh at a dance-heavy American musical attempting to bring across a gritty drama about the struggle of labor at the dawn of the 20th century. The gleeful choreography and jubilant music feel a bit tone-deaf next to the seriousness of labor exploitation which continues to this day. That being said, the musical itself reaches right into the heart of human drama and pulls out a few honestly powerful moments. There’s a romance between an ambitious young journalist and a charismatic working-class newsboy. There are dreams of making it out of the city to a place of freedom, which cascade out in some rather nice bits of musical longing. There is the haunting energy of songs like “King of New York” and “Seize the Day.” Genuine emotion seems to radiate from a commercial package put together about a victory for the little guy over a huge media giant. It just feels a little strange coming from something produced by one of the largest media corporations in the modern world.
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Newsies ran for one week only at the Marcus Center. Broadway at the Marcus Center returns next month as Roundabout Theatre Company presents its touring production of Cabaret, Feb. 23-28. For more information, visit marcuscenter.org
