Extra! Extra! Disney’s “Newsies” at Hurricane Theatrical Now Open!
August 4th Through September 9th, 2023
– By Aleina Lister –
“Here’s a headline: ‘Newsies on a mission!’” And what might that mission be? According to director Kyle Myrick, “Hurricane Theatrical’s mission is to always do better than we did before.” And what better show to do that than with Disney’s Newsies?
After the intimate town of Gilead in Hurricane Theatrical’s previous production of The Spitfire Grill, where Myrick pushed what is normally considered to be spectacle to focus on acting, and the deeper meaning of story, he and his amazing production team bring audiences to the rough and rambunctious streets of New York in 1899.
However, rather than trade focusing on the depth of stories and acting for the spectacle that Hurricane Theatrical is not only capable of but excels at, Myrick has found a way to marry the two by producing an amazing story with fun “glitz and glam”.
Based on the historical events of the Newsboys Strike of 1899 and the Disney movie musical in 1992, Newsies follows Jack Kelly (played by James David), who works for the New York World newspaper and dreams of a different life away from New York, but is grounded by his friend Crutchie (Reed Laudie). But when the owner of the World, Joseph Pulitzer (John Blasko) raises the price of distribution for the newsies, Jack along with his friends, Crutchie and Davey (Caleb Christensen), and a rival newspaper reporter, Katherine Plumber (McKenzie Harts), rallies newsies all over New York to take a stand- to strike.
Now, it’s no secret that Newsies is a musical theater favorite. It is a show that has been done time and time again in Southern Utah, and a few cast members of Hurricane Theatrical’s production have a few ideas as to why. According to leading man James David, Newsies is done so frequently because of the importance of the ensemble. It’s easy to find a show that’s very dependent on the lead characters and the ensemble is just there to have bodies on stage at times, but this is not the case in Newsies. David remarks how each ensemble member is not only named, but also important in their contribution to Jack, and essentially the story through song and dance. Kyle Myrick emphasizes the importance of the Newsies story itself and how the messages of taking a stand against injustice still apply to our world today. A truly immortal story and lesson.
Come “Watch What Happens” at the Hurricane Fine Arts Center. This show, full of history, music, and fun, opens August 4th and closes September 9th, with shows on Monday, Friday, and Saturdays which also include Saturday Matinees. For more information, go to www.hurricanetheatrical.com, or call 435-668-9753. Photo’s by Alex Chamberlain.
, who){kind=link}