Musical Theatre Southwest’s ‘Newsies’ is a solid production

I had never heard of the 1992 movie “Newsies,” but it inspired a Broadway musical in 2012 that proved much more popular than the original cinematic version and which inspired another “Newsies” movie in 2017. The show is based on a newspaper boy strike in New York City in 1899, and so — as one of the characters says — is a sort of David takes on Goliath story.

Musical Theatre Southwest is currently producing “Newsies” in what is, for the most part, a pretty solid production, directed by Robb Anthony Sisneros.

The Goliath figure here is Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the New York World, who raises the wholesale price of newspapers on the kids who sell them. Led by Jack Kelly, the newspaper boys opt to strike.

Jack is well-played by Colin Burdge, although he is perhaps a tad too old for the part. Burdge, a frequent leading man at MTS, is paired with Devon Griste as Katherine Plumber, a wealthy heiress who is also a journalist and sympathetic to the plight of the children. Although she initially rejects his come-on, Katherine ultimately falls for the charismatic union leader, despite the huge chasm of class difference that separates them. As it turns out, Jack proves to be a gifted cartoonist, so it appears by the end of the play his fortunes are rising even without the help of his new heiress girlfriend.

Griste is talented and right for the part but needs vocal training. She does not adequately project her voice and could not always be heard, whether speaking or singing; especially disappointing was her Act 1 solo, “Watch What Happens.” Interestingly, she did project in her Act 2 duet with Jack, “Something to Believe In,” proving she is capable when she approaches the material boldly.

The real focus of the show is the Dickensian children in rags sleeping on the streets and oppressed by greedy businessmen and their goons. The ensemble of children (mostly played by young adults) perform most of the dance numbers — skillfully choreographed by Jonathan Ragsdale — and possess the athletic ability requisite to execute a fair number of backflips, cartwheels and various other gymnastic moves. Unfortunately, some of the young actors also failed to vocally project, including the otherwise very good Corban Mejia as Crutchy.

Harvey Fierstein wrote the book, and some of his best lines are given to Les, a 9-year old. Allen Dominguez, who plays the youngster, delivers Fierstein’s witty one-liners with a natural comic ability and the appropriate smirk on his face.

The highly acclaimed Alan Menken wrote the music, which includes a few pretty good tunes, most notably for a New Mexico audience the show’s prologue, “Santa Fe,” also reprised to close the first act.

The minimalist set design by Joel McKenzie leaves the dancer-gymnasts plenty of room to do their stuff; Shannon Scheffler’s costumes are appropriate to the period; and Jenni Hipólito ably leads the talented orchestra.

“Newsies” is playing through Sunday, Aug. 11, at MTS, 6320 Domingo NE, Suite B, Albuquerque. Go to mtsabq.org for reservations.