We decided a few months back to go see Newsies - and the day finally came!
Just to brush up on my Newsies facts and to let Sophia get familiar, we watched the movie last night. Not that I needed a brush up, I still had most of the movie - songs and choreography included - memorized, even after 23 years.
First of all, it was at ATT Performing Arts Center, not at Fair Park as we originally thought, This was my first time to watch a show here and it was beautiful. It is an opera house so it is situated a little different than Fair Park. It's very tall and narrow but has such nice sound.
I am so blessed to have a child that loves musicals as much as I do. It's so much fun to go to these things with her!!
We started by going out to eat at Pei Wei!! Such a nice treat.
Sophia had a great time and so did we!!
We were able to stay afterwards and have a Q & A with a few of the cast members. It was nice to hear about the show and then get a close up of the stage!
Ok - now on to the review!!
This show is different from the movie. The story line is a bit different. There are some characters who are changed and are portrayed different than they are in the movie. But, in a good way. There are a few added songs that you won't recognize, and they were OK. But the dancing....
Oh, the dancing.
The dancing, choreography, set design, and level of talent in this production is the best I've seen. And I say that with great hesitance as Wicked is my favorite musical. But these guys and their dancing abilities were better than in the movie. And that's hard, because those guys in the movie are awesome.
First and foremost - the set design of this show was absolutely the best I've ever seen. The way they blocked everything, the quickness of set changes and how they worked it into to the show seamlessly, it was all amazing. They added levels of technology that I've never seen done before that were incredible. They had moveable towers that could separate and had screens that would roll up and down to be the backdrops. The cast ran up and down those towers the entire show. It was amazing.
Secondly, the singing was great. It's not hard to sing better than Christian Bale (no offense, Batman) or Doogie's best friend, but they tried very hard to make the songs sound like what the audience had come to love. I hate when musicals change things up and do different renditions and these guys didn't. The accents, the style, it was all the same as the movie.
The dancing was what really set this show apart. It's unbelievable that these guys do this day after day. The level of energy was outstanding. You left there completely satisfied - you cheered and clapped the whole time. I am so glad we went and greatly enjoyed it!!
Here is a number from the Tony awards, just to get a little taste!
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