Newsies makes its entertaining community theater debut at Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center as Actors’ Repertory Theatre Of Simi premieres its enthusiastically performed, proudly pro-labor 2019 season opener.

Based on the 1992 flick that helped propel Christian Bale to stardom, Disney’s Newsies combines drama and romance and song and dance, the latter two provided by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman’s eminently hummable Tony-winning score and at SVCAC by Becky Castells energetic choreography.

 Jared Svboda plays Jack Kelly, the fictional leader of the real-life 1899 New York newsboys’ strike, David to the Goliath represented by newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer (Peter Fair), whose decision to raise the price his “newsies” must pay before selling their “papes” on the streets of NYC prompts Jack and his fellow paper boys to “Seize The Day” and launch a full-fledged strike against the publishing magnate’s New York World.

Along with Jack for the sure-to-be bumpy ride are Crutchie (Noah Canada) so named because of his ever-present walking aid; newbie newsie Davey (Cody Williams) and his kid brother Les (Lucas Panczel), working in tandem to support a disabled father; and a ragtag team of scrappy youths who aren’t about to say no to anyone, not even to the country’s most powerful newspaper kingpin.

Harvey Fierstein’s Tony-nominated book takes what worked best in Bob Tzudiker and Noni White’s original screenplay and tweaks it by making its leading lady (Natalia Vivino as Katherine Plumber) not just Jack’s love interest but the reporter assigned to write about the strike, at the same time keeping the movie’s best songs intact, most notably “Carrying The Banner,” “Santa Fe,” “Seize The Day,” and “The King Of New York,” while factoring in enough new tunes to earn composer Menken his very first Tony statuette.

Directing as “George Spelvin,” David Ralphe elicits all-around lively performances from a committed young cast headed by Svoboda’s gritty Jack Kelly, with spirited support from Williams’ pure-hearted Davey, Panczel’s plucky Les, and Canada’s endearing Crutchie.

 Featured boys and girls give it all they’ve got, with special snaps to silver-throated Brittany Anderson (Medda Larkin, Nun) and dance standouts Michael Dumas (Splasher, Spot Conlon, Esteban Hurtado (Race), Conner Stevens (Romeo), and Sylvia Touris (Finch).

Equally committed are youthful cast members Brooke Bradley (JoJo), Tricia Fierro (Henry, Bowery Beauty), Audrey Fischer (Albert), Jackson Manhan (Specs), Caitlyn Rose Massey (Mush, Woman), Victoria Pla (Buttons, Hannah, Bowery Beauty), Mason Rothermel (Ike), Austyn Smith (Elmer), and Weston Walker-Pardee (Tommy Boy).

Fair leads the adult cast as a suitably dastardly Joseph Pulitzer, alongside Anthony Baldonado (Seitz, Police Officer, Darcy), Cody Burdette (Morris Delancey, Man On The Street), Alex Greenslade (Bunsen, Stage Manager, Nun, Bill), Mueen Jahan (Mr. Jacobi, Mayor), Wayne Remington (Oscar Delancey and a “bully” Teddy Roosevelt), emergency understudy Will Shupe (Nunzio, Officer Snyder), and Larry Swartz (Wiesel), though some older characters could benefit from more age-appropriate casting.

Last but definitely not least, Natalia Vivino gives the evening’s standout performance as a feisty, captivating Katharine with pro-caliber vocal chops and some nifty tapping to boot.

Shupe’s movable scaffolding set is an effective one, and looks quite snazzy as lit by Claire Cleary. Joshua Stapel’s period costumes are winners too, though the historical accuracy of female newsies amidst the boys would have been better served by outfitting them like the real-life girls who did indeed sell papes beside the boys. Eunice Sanchez’s properties and Luis Ramirez’s wigs complete the production design.

Vocal harmonies are tip-top under Matt Park’s musical direction. Gary Poirot conducts the production’s live orchestra, with vocals and instrumentals adeptly mixed by sound designer/technical director Seth Kamenow.

Newsies is produced by Jan Glasband. Production stage manager Dean Foster doubles as director’s assistant. Kimberly Kiley is production manager.

Newsies opens a particularly headline-worthy season for ARTS at SVCAC, to be followed by a trio of 21st-century Broadway hits: 2013’s A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder, 2006’s The Drowsy Chaperone, and 2013’s Matilda The Musical, giving Simi Valley musical theater lovers plenty to shout about in 2019.

Actors Repertory Theatre Of Simi, Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, 3050 Los Angeles Avenue, Simi Valley.
www.actorsrepofsimi.org

–Steven Stanley
March 3, 2019

Tags: Actors Repertory Theatre Of Simi, Alan Menken, Harvey Fierstein, Jack Feldman, Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, Ventura County Theater Review