Theatre Trip: Newsies

NEWSIES

Troubadour Theatre, Wembley Park

Date: 25 June 2023 (Sunday), 1:00pm

Seats: Manhattan ZA, 9-11

Understudies: George Crawford (Jack Kelly), Bobbie Chambers (Katherine Plumber), Ross Dawes (Joseph Pulitzer), Les (Ethan Sokontwe) 

(Seen with Linda and Jess!)

Notes: This one was a bit of an adventure! I had heard so many good things about Newsies and we were lucky to find a decent priced seat with a 1pm Sunday matinee! Perfect for driving, especially given it was out in Wembley Park. I've never been out there and at 9am it said it was only a 55 minute drive so I committed to driving and got ready for the rest of my day. Then around 11am I checked again so I could get there nice and early, and it said 1 hour 35! So I left and of course traffic didn't improve. I arrived at the car park (pink) right on time - only to find that the actual theatre is another 15 minutes walk away! I rushed over there only to arrive at the 10 minute call, so I had just enough time to go to the bathroom, and my way in took me past a kiosk shop where I picked up a water and a program before taking my seat. Jess and Linda, on the other hand, drove from a similar place but went a different route and got stuck in traffic! They ended up arriving around half past 1 and coming in part way through the show.

Going in, all I knew about this show was that it was about the 1900s newsboy strike. I was actually wrong - it was 1899! The newsboys lived in poverty, mostly without parents, selling 'papes' they buy from Joseph Pulitzer for 50c/100. When Pulitzer, trying to make more money, raises the price to 60c/100, they quickly unionise and go on strike! There's also an intriguing female reporter trying to break the story so she can get a job outside the social pages (that way there can be romance).

I didn't know anything about the music ahead of time but really fell in love with a couple of the songs, 'Seize the Day' and 'King of New York' in particular. I think it was because of the dancing! this show has an amazing (mostly) male cast that do a WHOLE lot of dancing. Most of it (including Seize the Day) take place in this gorgeous ballet style which is super athletic and cool to watch. But despite me doing ballet, I got wayyy over excited at the beginning of Act 2 because their shoes were shiny on the bottom... Which means a TAP NUMBER! I have become utterly obsessed with 'King of New York' and have listened to it so many times that I have begun dreaming about tap choreography! It was amazing and the whole show really fueled my drive to continue dancing.

I really liked some of the characters, particularly the lead female, Katherine Plumber. I liked her chutzpah and pizazz! Her characterisation was really great and I liked the idea of the female reporter who was trying to break into the big time out of the social pages. We actually got a few understudies in this performance and Katherine was one of them (Bobbie Chambers). I really really liked her characterisation and performance! She was eager but so full of character and sassy and she was really great. We also had an understudy for the lead, Jack Kelly. I knew he was an understudy straight away as the regular guy is black, and this understudy was fine. A few cracks but usually at parts with feeling so he got away with it. The guy who played Joseph Pulitzer I was surprised to see was an understudy given how much I enjoyed his performance. He was really excellent! And Les, the child actor was amazing! I always am so impressed by child actors in West End shows.

It turns out that Newsies is closing at the end of July, so it seems like I got in just in time! It was such an amazing show and I'm so glad that I caught it before it closed.