Newsies The Musical is a fun, action-packed, visually spectacular show. With amazing dances and acrobatics, as well as great songs, this musical is an instant crowd-pleaser. Here’s my Newsies The Musical theatre review.
Overview of Newsies The Musical
My Newsies The Musical theatre review is based on the 2023 performance at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, London. It’s a more modern theatre than many of the central London theatres, which I think really suits this performance. It’s a big venue, with seats on 3 sides of the stage. And there are high ceilings and lots of space, which really helps the visual nature of the show.
Newsies The Musical tells the story of a group of boys in New York in the late 1800s who sell newspapers for a living. Most of these boys are orphans, needing the money they make from selling the newspapers to buy food and shelter.
The story focuses on Jack, one of the Newsies, who leads a strike when the newspaper managers try to increase the price of the newspapers. There are empowering songs, and great dances, throughout the show. And there’s also a nice love story between Jack and the daughters of one of the managers. Newsies is quite an uplifting story in the end, although it does also deal with the real issues of child poverty in 1800s New York.
What I liked about Newsies The Musical
My favourite thing about Newsies The Musical was the dancing. The dances were spectacular, both the individual and also the group dances. It’s difficult to describe exactly what style of dancing it was. There were elements of ballet, but also acrobatics/gymnastics, and more traditional musical theatre dances. I thought all the dancers were brilliant.
As well as great dancing, there are other great visual displays in the show as well. The whole cast use the whole stage really well, and also the whole theatre space. There are ladders leading to raised platforms which the cast are constantly climbing up. The cast also run around the aisles of the show, and do some songs and dances partially in the aisles right next to the audience. There’s also a fantastic zip line down one of the aisles. I really enjoyed how the performers used all of the space, and as an audience member you felt really in the middle of the action. It was different to many shows in older theatres that just take place on the stage, and I think it worked really well.
The songs are plot of the musical were enjoyable as well. There were several songs that felt really uplifting and motivating, and I went straight home to listen to those songs again. It’s a good story. But for me, the real highlight was the visual element of the show.
What I wasn’t so sure about
I really enjoyed this musical. If I was being critical, I guess the songs and plot maybe aren’t in my top 5 musicals. They’re enjoyable, but they don’t stick in my head as much as some others that I’ve seen recently. I was slightly moved by the plot and how the Newsies boys stood up to the managers. But I wasn’t ‘wowed’ by it. But the dancing and acrobats really made up for that.
Would I recommend Newsies The Musical
I would definitely recommend going to see Newsies The Musical. The performance at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, London was a really visually spectacular show. The whole theatre space was used really well, and the dancing and acrobats were great. It’s a great evening out for all ages.
Check out the show dates here.