Newsies Review: ‘a song-and-dance extravaganza delivered with jaw-dropping gusto’

Arriving during Britain’s winter of discontent, Newsies is all about a bunch of paperboys (remember those?) striking for fairer pay. If you’re in the mood for some lighthearted entertainment, though, don’t let the seemingly depressing plotline put you off.

With a script by Harvey Fierstein, music by Alan Menken, and lyrics by Jack Feldman, this musical adaptation of the 1992 Disney movie is the very definition of an invigorating time at the theatre.

The film, starring a young and flat-footed Christian Bale, was rubbish. The show, which has taken far too long to reach these shores after premiering on Broadway in 2012 with Jeremy Jordan in the lead, is terrific fun.

The plot is flimsier than a tabloid’s definition of the word ‘news’. In the late-1800s, New York hero Jack (a very charismatic Michael Ahomka-Lindsay) rallies his fellow newsies to take on ruthless publisher Joseph Pulitzer (an underused Cameron Blakey) with the help of young reporter Katherine (a spunky Bronté Barbé) when he cuts their rate of pay. And that’s about it in a story that Fierstein struggles to find substance in and where most of the supporting characters aren’t properly fleshed out.

It doesn’t matter, though, because Newsies is really just an excuse for a song-and-dance extravaganza that is delivered with jaw-dropping gusto by the hardest-working cast in London. They tap dance on tables and swing from lights with the grace of ballerinas and the stamina of athletes.

Director Matt Cole, who also did the choreography, puts them through their paces as one routine tops the previous one, culminating in an invigorating ‘King of New York’ number that’s the most perfectly-executed routine you’ll see anywhere on a London stage.

The cast makes full use of Morgan Large’s magnificent set, which features fire escapes, projected tenements, and the audience divided into the boroughs of Flushing, The Bronx, Woodside, Richmond, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, with Brooklyn offering the best views and Manhattan furthest from the stage in a witty reversal of New York’s current real estate reality.

This is what you’d call an immersive production, with the players romping through the aisles and dancing on every level, and it’s all the more rousing for it. You couldn’t make a case for it as a classic musical, given that paper-thin plot and a second act that lacks momentum, but it’s a massively enjoyable one.

And oh those dancers! It may be cold outside but inside the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre it’s hot stuff.

Rating: 4/5

Newsies is at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, London, until 16 April. Get tickets here.