MICHAEL C. MOORE·MONDAY, MAY 27, 2019
The Mountaineers Players leave no stone unturned and deliver a striking production of the inspiring Disney musical
BREMERTON — A note to local theater companies who have productions of "Newsies" either in the works (Paradise Theatre opens theirs in Port Orchard June 14, and CSTOCK just announced the show as their season opener this coming fall), or on the drawing board:
The bar, my friends, is set high.
That's because the Mountaineers Players' first-in-the-area production at the Kitsap Forest Theater not only scooped the competition, but gets the story bracingly, delightfully right.
"Newsies," the Disney screen-to-stage adaptation about the New York Newsboys Strike of 1899, is a musical I was seeing for the first time. And it's a credit to director Craig Schieber and his massive cast and crew that I could — despite the distractions that are part of any experience at the rustic amphitheater — retire on this one, perfectly satisfied that if I never got to see another production of it, this one would always supply a positive memory.
Fortunately, I don't have to. I look forward to seeing how other companies handle the memorable Alan Menken-Jack Feldman songs and the snappy Harvey Fierstein book; how they stage the production numbers; how they manage to portray turn-of-the-century New York City in confines very different from those in which the Mountaineers are bringing it to life.
But I'll remember the Mountaineers' joyous run-through for the strength of its performances — dramatic, vocal, instrumental and dance — the thoroughness of its presentation (Schieber's crew and production staff easily outnumber the cast of 52, and the manpower brought to bear shows) and its overall power.
For starters, the show itself is tremendous, based on and totally respectful of historic events (filtered through the 1992 movie screenplay by Noni White and Bob Tzudiker), but still eager to please and entertain.
And Schieber, with able assists from musical director Amy Beth Nolte and bandleader Elizabeth Rainey, set designer Chris Stanley and — perhaps most notable of all — choreographer Guy Caridi, finds all the drama and fun and presents it in oft-thrilling fashion.
The story centers around Stanley’s monolithic brownstone construction, which allows Schieber's actors and Caridi's dancers to cavort on three levels — ground, fire-escape and rooftop.
Jack (Trevor Burden, left) and Crutchie (Oliver Girouard) dream of a future somewhere other than the streets of New York.
It's the rooftop where Jack (a terrific Trevor Burden) dreams of escaping his NYC existence, even as he inspires his oppressed fellow newsboys to organize against publishers like tyrannical Joseph Pulitzer (who's no prize, let me tell you).
Down below, the Newsies strike, attracting the attention of ambitious reporter Katherine (Katie Dreessen, Burden's equal in the "terrific" department, particularly dealing with the rollercoaster lyrics of “Watch What Happens”), who then, inevitably in a show needing a romantic subplot, attracts the attention of Jack.
Those two are the rocks of Schieber's cast, but they're far from alone. Oliver Girouard is an effectively sympathetic Crutchie, and Zach Edson and Andrew Kruse both shine as fledgling newsies, the elder taking up Jack's call to action while the younger seems destined to make his fortune on the streets. Meagan Castillo (as their ally) and Jeff Pettiross (as the enemy, Pulitzer himself) both add considerably.
But Schieber and Caridi find ways to let dozens of their supporting players and hoofers contribute, and they all do. The dancing, in particular, is breathtaking.
Newsies dancing L-R: (Alexandra Kunin, Stefanie Van Rafelghem, Olivia Ingram, Anna Vizzare)
The singing is almost uniformly tremendous, and Rainey's five-piece band supplies distinguished accompaniment.
There were sound foibles during the well-attended May 26 (opening day) performance I attended, but this venue is always going to have sound foibles — especially with a big, complex show like this, that literally surrounds the gallery with singers, from all directions and altitudes. But you won't miss anything; I heard every line and lyric, just not always through the intended microphone or at the intended volume.
And you won't miss anything, either, because you'll be hanging on every word of this "Newsies." It's a no-stone-unturned effort that deserves to be front-page news among local theater enthusiasts.
REVIEW ‘Newsies’
Who: Mountaineers Players
What: Musical by Alan Menken, Jack Feldman and Harvey Fierstein, based on the movie screenplay by Bob Tzudiker and None White
Where: Kitsap Forest Theater, 3000 Seabeck Hwy. NW, Bremerton
When: Through June 16; 2 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and Memorial Day; gate opens at 1 p.m.
Tickets: $18-$10 advance, $20-$12 gate
Information: 800-573-8484 (tickets), 206-542-7815 (information), foresttheater.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALFONSO BARRERA / MOUNTAINEERS PLAYERS
Top: Jack (Trevor Burden, middle) tells Davey (Zach Edson, right) that his kid brother Les (Andrew Kruse) is a born newsie.