Opera House dances close to Broadway quality with eye-popping production of 'Newsies'
The news business ain't what it used to be.
But Opera House Theatre Co.'s lively production of the dance-tastic musical "Newsies" — which concludes with two performances on Saturday, Aug. 20, and two more on Sunday at Thalian Hall in downtown Wilmington — takes us back to the good ol' days, when newspaper barons controlled their businesses with iron fists and relied on underpaid child labor to distribute their product.
OK, so maybe there are some benefits to the digital age (not to mention American child labor laws), when it comes to the modern-day media landscape. But while Opera House's production of "Newsies" might not make you nostalgic for the days of print newspapers and ink-stained fingers, it's a fantastically tuneful history lesson with some incredibly strong performances and a plethora of truly impressive dance sequences.
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In some ways, "Newsies" feels like one of the most "Broadway" productions Opera House has ever staged in its 35-plus-year history. I don't know if that's because it was directed by Shane Fernando, who also runs Cape Fear Community College's Wilson Center and has seen first-hand what it takes to put on a Broadway show, given the dozens of touring productions that have come through that vene since 2015.
Certainly, it doesn't hurt that music director Brian Whitted has years of actual Broadway experience (it shows). I should also note that, given the central role of dance in "Newsies," Carson Hobbs' choreography is exemplary, and it helps that she's got a troupe of talented and athletic young dancers to pull it off.
The performances are quite fine as well, starting with Paul Teal (of HBO Max's "The Staircase") as Jack Kelly, the artistically talented New York City street tough who leads a gang of urchins and ragamuffins in a strike that threatens the empire of media mogul Joseph Pulitzer (Wilmington theater vet Robin Dale Robertson, playing the villain to the scenery-chewing hilt). Teal embodies the role completely, from his righteous anger to his ambivalence when the strike threatens to go south.
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As Katherine Plummer, the plucky theater reviewer turned hard news reporter who brings the plight of the newsies to the world, Emilia Torello brings a fresh-faced authenticity to the role and absolutely destroys "Watch What Happens," a fast-paced patter song with a high degree of difficulty.
Caleb Spainhour brings a soulfulness to the role of the crippled yet upbeat newsie Crutchie (his "Letter from the Refuge" is a highlight), Michelle Braxton is downright regal as the protective theater matron Metta Larkin and the cast of young dancers absolutely shines during multiple dance sequences, bringing down Thursday night's packed house several times.
The thing about Broadway polish, though, is that it can often outshine moments of emotion, which, if we're being honest, this show doesn't have a ton of. That's as much as product of the writing as anything else; the humor is middlebrow and the story crowd-pleasingly predictable.
But the social issues the show tackles are real and, given that a note in the program dedicates the production to "the 160 million children in the world today working under slave labor conditions," sadly relevant.
To say that "Newsies" is not a downer, however, would be quite the understatement. You will be entertained.
Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Opera House's Wilmington NC production of 'Newsies' at Thalian Hall
