Newsies at West Valley Arts

Last night I went to see Newsies at the West Valley Performing Arts Center. I love this show so much and this production is fantastic! It tells the story of how Jack Kelly (Jerdyn Akeripa), along with his fellow "newsies" and a determined young reporter named Katherine (Ashtyn Roskelley), stand up to Joseph Pulitzer (Taylor Smith) by going on strike after he raises the cost of the papers. I love the songs because they are incredibly stirring and the choreography because it is exhilarating. The talented cast (which, I was happy to see, includes girls as newsies) does an amazing job with the big production numbers "Carrying the Banner," "The World Will Know" (this is my favorite song in the show and it gave me goosebumps), "Seize the Day," "King of New York" (the tap dancing is incredible), and "Once and for All." These scenes feature the signature athletic leaps, jumps, and spins that this show is known for but they also incorporate lots of innovative and acrobatic steps which keep it fresh and vibrant. Both Akeripa and Roman Curiel, who plays Davey, are very charismatic and I enjoyed their interactions as their characters spar back and forth. The former delivers a rousing rendition of "Santa Fe" and that definitely got the crowd cheering. Roskelley is also very impressive and I loved her spirited performance of "Watch What Happens." Smith's Pulitzer is more ruthless than I have seen before (but I loved his voice in "The Bottom Line"), Nnuka Barcelona's Medda is a force to be reckoned with in "That's Rich," and Sebastian Long's Les is adorably precocious. The set is very minimal (much more so than any other production of this show that I have seen) but it is surprisingly effective. The platforms above the wings are used for Jack's fire escape, Katherine's desk, and Pulitzer's office and one of the wings features an iron gate as the entrance to the New York World building and a wooden platform where the newspapers are distributed to the newsies (it is very clever how the headlines are displayed). A simple wooden stage and an old-fashioned printing press are brought out by the ensemble for "That's Rich" and "Once and for All," respectively, and neighborhood signs are distributed throughout the audience for "Brooklyn's Here" (this is so fun). The costumes are very much informed by the Broadway production (there are lots of the famous newsie caps) but I especially liked Medda's velvet gown and the costumes worn by the Bowery Beauties. I had so much fun at this high-energy show and I cannot recommend it enough! There are only three more opportunities to see it next weekend (tickets may be purchased here) so act quickly.

Note: This was once at the top of my list of shows I most wanted to see. I wanted to see it so badly I chaperoned the HHS performing arts trip to Disneyland (my least favorite place on Earth) just so I could see the Broadway touring production at the Pantages Theatre with the group! It was worth it!