Pelican Productions. Arts Theatre. 21 Sep 2024
They’ve done it again. The Arts Theatre stage literally swarms with a wealth of beautifully disciplined and upliftingly talented young performers. Talk about a peep hole into the future of the Australian stage. The joy of Jen Frith and Kylie Green's Pelican Productions is the way it rallies and trains school after school of thrilling young emerging talent in Adelaide.
This critic has yet to see them put on a bad show.
Nor to see greater groups of youngies working better or harder together.
Choreographer Carla Papa and musical director Ben Francis have a lot to do with that.
The company has been presenting two simultaneous productions at The Arts this time around. Heathers the Musical (already bestowed a very positive review on this grand old arts site by colleague Arna Eyres-White) and Disney’s Newsies Jr.
Newsies Jr. features the old American Broadway finesse of Alen Menken’s music with Jack Feldman’s lyrics from Harvey Fierstein’s book, all based on the Disney Film which, in turn, is based on fact.
Not only is it a bumper stage show but it also depicts a precious piece of history, an early era, pre-electronic media, when print reigned supreme as primary sources of information and influence and when newspaper circulation featured sales on the city streets - newspapers hot off the presses being sold by (predominantly) teenage boys. There once were newsboys shouting out the headlines and selling papers for coins on almost every street corner in Adelaide.
Newsies Jr. is set in New York City in 1899 when Joseph Pulitzer was the ruthless editor of the sensationalist World newspaper and Teddy Roosevelt was Governor of New York. Newsies is particularly pertinent right now since it was a highly political and Democrat-leaning publication and it targeted corruption. Not that Newsies makes Pulitzer into a hero. His arbitrary raising of the price of the paper and compromising the meagre profit line of its street sellers is core to the story.
Led by Jack Kelly, the battler kids take on media moguls by striking for fair pay. Hence, the musical is about political activism and the power of the people, nicely intertwined with greed, rivalry, discrimination, and emancipation.
This latter is embodied by a pioneer female journalist in quest of the scoop, this role is performed by Amelia Boys who is among those outstanding with names to be watched. Hers is not only an eloquent characterisation with impressive keystrokes on a vintage typewriter but a powerful voice with a particularly lovely timbre.
While Reo Gerhardy carries the lead role of newsboy Jack Kelly with heaps of chutzpah and Will Fleming charms in fine voice as Crutchie, the eye is constantly drawn to one of the dance ensemble, not only because of his height but the fact that Francis Osei-Tutu is an outstanding dancer - another name for which to watch. Noah Byrne and Casey Mifsud also are notable along with Mia Khairul hamming it up a treat as the kid.
Production values are high, as ever, in these big-cast shows. Lighting is on the ball, costumes thorough, and sound well balanced. It’s a professional production by and for promising amateurs. Bravo once again, Pelican.
Samela Harris
When: Closed
Where: Arts Theatre
Bookings: Closed
