By Lynn Venhaus
Brimming with vim and vigor, Stages St. Louis’ “Disney’s Newsies” pops with personality. Stressing unity in troubled times, it’s a modern message about how harnessing hope can change lives.

Believe! Like the very best underdog sports tales, this David vs. Goliath story based on the Newsboys Strike of 1899 taps into belonging, being of service to others, and making a difference in the world.

Despite the musical being set in the late 19th century, the struggles of a ragtag group of misfits, rebels and street urchins who bring out the best in each other as they fight oppression can resonate in any age, even digital, as fights for rights continue around the world.

Based on the beloved 1992 Disney movie musical that became a cult classic, it wasn’t until 20 years later that it made its Broadway debut, adapted by Harvey Fierstein.

In 2012, it earned four Tony nominations, including Best Musical, winning two for Best Score – Alan Menken’s first-ever Tony for writing the music (after eight Oscars), with lyrics by Jack Feldman, and Best Choreography by Christopher Gattelli.

Phillip Hamer photo.

Trying to survive their harsh conditions one turn-of-the-century summer in Manhattan’s lower east side, newsboys discover rising prices and reduced meager wages threaten their livelihood. The newspaper was the only way to get the news once upon a time.

Organized by orphan Jack Kelly, they protest the practices of the publishing tycoons of the day, namely their greedy employer, Joseph Pulitzer, whose “papes” are the New York World, The Herald and The Sun.

The Muny’s 2017 production was the show’s Midwest regional premiere, after the national tour stopped at the Fox Theatre in 2016.

For its ambitious Stages premiere, it has arrived super-sized at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center with a big-picture outlook by director Steve Bebout, a grand-scale set design by Ann Beyersdorfer, and turbo-charged acrobatic choreography by Lindsay Joy Lancaster.

Their meticulous work with a fresh-faced cast of triple-threats is dazzling. This unified ensemble of young adults, teens and youngsters shine with a contagious youthful energy – oh if we could only bottle it! — which elevates the elaborately staged pieces.

The exciting signature numbers “The World Will Know,” “Seize the Day,” “King of New York,” and ‘Once and For All” are Menken’s odes to the common man, first heard in the movie.

Menken and Feldman wrote 12 original songs for the movie, which was directed and choreographed by Kenny Ortega of “Dirty Dancing” fame and starred an 18-year-old Christian Bale. While it bombed at the box office, fervent fans grew through watching VHS tapes, DVDs and TV showings. He added seven new tunes for Broadway.

Phillip Hamer photo.

With this expansive bright and buoyant cast, the company’s strength and endurance is noteworthy. They immediately captivate with their winsome characters and cheeky attitudes, singing about “their fine life” in “Carrying the Banner” and have a blast with their new notoriety in “King of New York.”

The dancers’ joy is visible from their first full-throttle appearance to a high-spirited curtain call, where they jump, twirl, kick and twist with abundant glee. In moves that could qualify them for the medal rounds in Olympic gymnastics, they are an earthy full-court press.

PJ Palmer is Race, Noah James Lentini is Albert, Paul Giarratano is Specs, Joah Ditto is Henry, Kyleigh Hegarty is Finch, Philly Kang is Elmer, Giuseppe Little is Romeo, TJ Staten is Mush, Kyle Holmes is Buttons, Carson Hampton Palmer is Tommy Boy and Darcy, Avery Martin is JoJo, Eddie Olmo II is Mike, Ronan Ryan is Ike, Danny Grumich is Wiesel, and James Caposito is Spot Conlon.

Playing Citizens of New York, among other roles, include Lena Matthews, Alyssa Sayuk and Hazel Vogel. Annaliza Canning-Skinner is Pulitzer’s secretary Hannah. (Swings are Brittany Ambler, Jonathan Kwock and Caposito.)

They foster goodwill through relatable heart-tugging personal situations (although the meanie enforcers are brothers Morris (Ryan) and Oscar Delancey (Olmo).

As for the archetype adults, some familiar faces return to Stages – Steve Isom as Bunsen and John Flack as goon Snyder. They are joined by versatile Patrick Blindauer, who is Jacobi’s Deli owner and Governor Theodore Roosevelt, among other small parts.

Taylor Quick and Daniel Marconi. Phillip Hamer photo.

Embodying the charismatic hustler Jack Kelly is Daniel Marconi, making a memorable debut in this demanding role and nailing his wise-guy accent.

However, he has an interesting connection to Stages’ world premiere of “The Karate Kid – The Musical,” for he took part in the NYC staged reading last year of the revamped musical as Daniel LaRusso. He was also in the pre-Broadway tryout of Tony winner “The Outsiders” at the La Jolla Playhouse.

In a star-making turn, Marconi smoothly anchors this band of brothers, taking command with strong vocals and plenty of swagger as the de facto leader, establishing himself as a fast-talking wheeler-dealer who commits to their right-over-might cause. He’s quick with the quips and sincerely tries to be there for the people he cares about.

Although he dreams of going out west for a better life, he’s loyal to his best friend, “Crutchie” (Matthew Cox), a disabled orphan, and falls for the crusading reporter, Katherine Plummer (Taylor Quick).

She exposes the ruthlessness of newspaper magnate Pulitzer and his minions, who don’t care about the newsies’ plight. Together, they have a sweet moment in “Something to Believe In.”

Marconi excels at standing up to the nefarious Pulitzer, played with unrelenting heartlessness by Christopher Gurr, while firing up everyone who wants to “stick it to the man.”

He meets a kindred spirit in go-getter Davey (Richard Spitaletta) and his nine-year-old brother Les (Davin Wade), whom he takes under his wing. Davey’s intelligence and Jack’s street-smarts are an inspiring combo. Both Spitaletta and Wade are engaging performers, comfortable in their roles.

Matthew Cox as Crutchie. Phillip Hamer photo.

Capturing everyone’s hearts is Matthew Cox, who endears as lovable Crutchie. You’ll want to have tissues ready for his “Letter from the Refuge” song, as he details the horrors of being back at the deplorable juvenile reformatory.

Quick, as resourceful Katherine, is another standout. She made her debut earlier this summer as Shelby in “Steel Magnolias,” but here showcases her considerable singing and dancing skills in “Watch What Happens” and “Once and For All.”

Anita Michelle Jackson is an incandescent light on stage, sashaying as sassy and classy theater owner Medda Larkin, who encourages Jack’s artistic ambitions, and looks fabulous in costume designer Brad Musgrove’s divine finery.

A texture specialist, Musgrove worked with period-appropriate garb for the poor-kid cast in mostly subdued earth tones, mixed up with prints, with the rich folk in Gilded Age attire, so the only chance to break out with sumptuous fabrics was with the showgirls.

David Nehls’ savvy music direction is on point, superbly conducting Alerica Anderson on base, Travis Maddison on guitar, Lea Gerdes and JD Tolman on reeds, Ranya Iqbal on cello, Abbie Steiling on violin, Evan Palmer on trombone, Chris Miller on trumpet, and Peter Gunn on drums and percussion, while he played keyboards.

Struck by the work’s timeless can-do American spirit, Bebout said he wanted to focus on young people’s quests to figure out their place in the world. “’Newsies’ reminds us to never doubt the power of a galvanized group of kids who want to change the world,” the director wrote in his program notes.

Christopher Gurr as Pulitzer. Phillip Hamer photo.

The ragamuffin newsies’ efforts bring the city to a standstill – not just a strike for decent wages, but through an ally reporter’s expose about unfair child labor practices in factories, slaughterhouses, and sweatshops are stand-up-and-cheer moments.

An important history lesson, this marked a significant turning point, when the labor union movement gained ground in a new Progressive Era as the country swelled with American Dream-seeking hopefuls who were the workforce for the Industrial Revolution.

Bebout has returned for another knockout, after he directed the comic juggernaut “Clue” last summer, which garnered five St. Louis Theater Circle Awards for Stages’ first play.

His ability to keep the fleet-footed cast swiftly moving through various locations is admirable. (Kudos to stage manager Monica Dickhens too).

The cast fluidly moves pieces of Beyersdorfer’s aesthetically impressive and practical grid set that is, by turns, a newspaper printing plant, bustling streets, makeshift living conditions, and The Refuge, with Pulitzer’s office and Medda’s theater in the mix.

The technical work is exemplary, including Bart Williams’ crisp fight choreography, Sean M. Savoie’s precise lighting design, Saki Kawamura’s adept video projection design, Mike Tracey’s sound design, and Daniel Paller’s shrewd wig and hair design.

Stages’ first foray into presenting a Disney musical in its 38 seasons is a triumph, an uplifting and heart-tugging tale of unlikely heroes that any generation can identify with.

Phillip Hamer photo.

Stages St. Louis presents Disney’s “Newsies” from July 26 to Aug. 25 in the Ross Family Theatre at The Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. For tickets or more information, visit https://stagesstlouis.org

Anita Michelle Jackson as Medda Larkin. Phillip Hamer Photo.

By Lynn Venhaus

Noteworthy for its fleet-footed cast and flawless execution, the rip-roaring romp “Clue” is a winning combination at Stages St. Louis.

In its first non-musical presentation since 1989, the company strikes comedic gold with a farcical whip-smart whodunit patterned after the classic murder mystery board game and based on the 1985 movie that has blackmail on the menu. I haven’t laughed this hard at live theater in a long time.

Is Professor Plum the guilty one with the candlestick in the Library or Miss Scarlet with the rope in the Ballroom? We will find out what really happened in this briskly paced 90-minute escapade that connects the charades, deceptions, and secret passageways during an unusual dinner party.

The hilarious hijinks kick off on a dark and stormy night in 1954, in a well-appointed Boddy Manor, located in a remote area of New England.

As the oddball characters cavort through the mansion’s rooms and corridors, this exceptional quick-witted ensemble shows why each performer is at the top of their game, deftly demonstrating skills in slapstick and impeccable comic timing. Together, they are a finely tuned troupe, zany like the original Monty Python’s Flying Circus in movement and delivery. Let the silly walks begin!

Photo by Phillip Hamer.

The six suspects are named according to the familiar game designed by Anthony E. Pratt and first manufactured by Waddington’s in England in 1949. Updated over the years, the current American edition, labeled “classic detective game,” is published by Hasbro, which bought the franchise from Parker Brothers in 1992.

The players’ task is to determine who murdered the game’s victim, in what room the crime took place, and which weapon was used, with cards and miniature props divvied up. Each player, representing a token color, takes on the role of either Colonel Mustard, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlett, or Mrs. White, rolls the dice to move around the nine rooms, and collects clues to deduce the correct answer (which are secretly placed in a special solution envelope).

This stage play version, first performed in 2019, was written by Sandy Rustin, whose “The Cottage” opened on Broadway this summer. She adapted the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn (“My Cousin Vinny”), who also directed the movie.

The 1985 film, with Tim Curry playing the butler, was marketed with the gimmick of three different endings, and this version seems to jumble the endings’ best parts – wisely keeping the robustly delivered last line. New material was added by Hunter Foster and Eric Price.

As part of the merry menagerie, Mr. Boddy is the host who has been blackmailing the other dinner guests for years. Jeff Cummings is appropriately condescending and threatening, handing out gift-wrapped weapons to each, spelling out the dangers ahead. When he winds up dead, they become suspects. Their color-coded names are aliases, assigned to prevent real identities being exposed. It doesn’t appear that they are that innocent, and the plot thickens (insert menacing laugh here).

Whodunit? Photo by Phillip Hamer

In a virtuoso performance, Mark Price tickles the funny bone as the butler Wadsworth, a master manipulator who seems to be putting the puzzle together, but whose antics question everything we’ve seen and heard. With his rapid back-and-forth delivery and devil-may-care spirit dialed to 11, he is physically reminiscent of a younger Robin Williams in “Mork and Mindy.” He nimbly seizes control of every scene in the second act, earning breakout applause, and has the audience howling with laughter.

A Broadway veteran, Price is reprising his role from the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey production in January 2022, postponed from a planned bow in ’20, delayed by the pandemic. The original direction by Casey Hushion is noted in the program, and this production is directed with tremendous zeal by Steve Bebout.

Bebout highlights each character’s eccentricities and keeps us guessing as to whodunit. The story structure isn’t as dependent on the characters as it is on the performances, and this cast is a marvel of perpetual motion and goofy quirks to keep us interested.

Could it be the self-important Mrs. Peacock, married to a U.S. senator accused of taking bribes? Flamboyant in blue, Zoe Vonder Haar struts around in fine fashion, exaggerating slurping soup and putting on airs.

Or is it the vampy Miss Scarlett, a smooth operator who runs an underground brothel in Washington D.C.? Diana DeGarmo, who has already impressed at Stages in “Always… Patsy Cline” and “Aida,” continues her hot streak, sashaying in a satiny red gown, sultry attitude to match.

Or the third suspicious woman, Tari Kelly as dramatic Mrs. White, who claims she is innocent in the death of her nuclear physicist husband. However, this international woman of mystery is hiding other secrets and motives, giving off a black widow vibe.

The men project peculiarities and appear not to be very smart, even Professor Plum, whose fall from grace includes a patient’s death. Looking all stuffed-shirt with purple bowtie, Graham Stevens is the annoying agitator.

Colonel Mustard, David Hess, on right. Photo by Phillip Hamer.

As Colonel Mustard, in his medal-detailed military jacket, David Hess seems clueless and not in sync with anyone else, evoking laughs through his obvious befuddlement.
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Mr. Green, who seems rather strait-laced and buttoned-up, has a terrific reveal sequence that is not worth spoiling, for Charlie Franklin brings the house down as this clever chameleon.

The help is mischievous and mystifying, with Lari White sassy and sexy in a skimpy French maid outfit, affecting a spot-on accent, too, and Leah Berry funny as the demanding, no-nonsense cook who doesn’t suffer fools and knows knife skills.

Cameron Jamarr Davis conveys authority and reliability as “The Cop” among other roles, and Cummings re-appears in minor parts as well.

As outstanding as the cast is, the production’s artisans have matched their vigor. Lee Savage’s production design creates rooms Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes would have been comfortable in, while lighting designer Sean M. Savoie’s expert shades of illumination provide key shadows and moods. Costume designer Brad Musgrove has captured each character’s personality through a color palette that defines their attire and accessories. Sound designer Beef Gratz’s superb atmospheric contributions make sounds ranging from thunderstorms to creaking doors an integral part of the story.

The zest evident in presentation is this show’s most attractive quality, the sheer thrill of watching a high-wire act without a net. Stages St. Louis leaves us smiling on a summer night, and I’m still chuckling reminiscing about what I saw.

“Clue” at Stages St. Louis. Photo by Phillip Hamer.

Stages St. Louis presents “Clue” from July 21 (previews) through Aug. 20 in the Ross Family Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, 210 E. Monroe St., in Kirkwood, Mo. For more information, visit: https://stagesstlouis.org.

Photo by Phillip Hamer.

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