On Thursday, May 30, I went to see Disney’s Newsies with my boyfriend, as I was invited to attend Out@TUTS Night at The Hobby Center in Houston. We both looked forward to seeing this Tony Award-winning musical in a brand-new production by Theatre Under The Stars. Even though I am a huge theater fan (I did theater in high school and college), and grew up seeing classic musicals like Annie and The Lion King, I hadn’t seen this musical before.
I remember seeing the promotions of this show on the TUTS website during the past few months. “I am ecstatic to finally bring Newsies to the TUTS audience!” said Dan Knechtges, TUTS Artistic Director. “This musical is electrifying, and this production is absolutely going to be worth the wait.” Notably, powerhouse vocalist and America’s Got Talent finalist Christina Wells was among the cast of the Houston and Broadway talent. After I learned that Newsies is an underdog story based on actual events, I was sold and knew that I just had to see it!
Disney’s Newsies musical first premiered in 2011 and made its Broadway debut in 2012. The musical is based on the original film from 1992, which was also inspired by the Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City. The story follows a group of homeless newsboys living in a lodging house in Lower Manhattan who together form a union and organize a protest upon discovering that the cost of newspapers was raised to 60 cents per 100 copies. The play was written by Harvey Fierstein, who adapted the script based on the Disney film written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White.
Based on the storyline alone, I could tell that this was going to be an inspiring show and the TUTS production did not disappoint. Seeing such young boys come together to take on the newspaper giant New York World made me feel inspired. As a former staff reporter and section editor for my university’s student-run newspaper, I am all for holding giant corporations accountable for their actions. And seeing kids doing that no less set a fire in me!
The leads, Pierre Marais as Jack Kelly and Luis-Pablo García as Crutchie, were outstanding. Newsies really impressed me with its musical numbers and choreography. The musical in itself checked all the boxes for a great show. There were heartfelt and humorous moments, and the music was high-energy. The New York City setting in 1899, strong New York accents, and delightful jokes easily make this a feel-good musical. The dance moments were iconic as the newsies leaped around with their newspaper delivery bags. It’s no wonder that exact dance move was included in the show’s marketing materials. Some notable numbers from this show were “Carrying The Banner,” “That’s Rich,” and “Something to Believe In” from the second act. Overall, I give this musical a 10 out of 10 for creativity in every aspect of the show.
If you’ve never seen Newsies, I highly recommend you check it out. The Broadway musical is available to stream on Disney+ and you can purchase it on Movies Anywhere. Theatre Under The Stars did an amazing production of this smash-hit and I recommend seeing any future TUTS productions in Houston. You can check out their 2024-2025 season announcement here.
