CMU School of Drama


Friday, July 21, 2017

Newsies

Pittsburgh in the Round: Believe it or not, times used to be harder for those with a career in the journalism industry.

No clear victor has emerged in this war between modern journalists and their cantankerous subjects who cry “Fake news!” in the face of all negative press. Unless you consider late night TV talk shows who need look no further than current headlines to find material for a week’s worth of broadcasts.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

All of us went to watch the production at Benedum tonight and it was absolutely fantastic. Having listened to the recordings millions of times due to my obsessed roommate at school, it was really nice to be able to watch it live for the very first time. The actors were amazing in all aspects; they were such well-rounded, great singers, dancers, and actors. When "Seize the Day" started, I had no choice but to mouth the lyrics along while screaming inside silently because of excitement. They were all so confident and proud of their work. Another unforgettable aspect of this show, also mentioned in the article, was the variety and difficulty of the dance numbers. Modern, tap, and other categories could all be seen in the show, superbly executed by all the performers. The most exciting one had to be "King of New York" where all the newsies and Catherine tap danced for the whole number. They were all in sync and had such precise movements that the audience would not stop applauding when the number ended.
Unfortunately, most of us did not get to see the ending because we had to make curfew, but it was a great experience overall.

Unknown said...

As Brandy said, a bunch of us went to see Newsies at the Benedum last night. My goodness it was great. Such an inspirational and iconic musical is definitely difficult to recreate, but as the article says, the choreography and incredible actors and dancers brought it to life. The scene changes happened during the scene, or they choreographed little scene change dances for the audience to pay attention to while set pieces moved. It was truly incredible to watch because everything felt so fluid. I've listen to songs before from the show and I love them but the tap numbers, and emotion that was put into every single song made it all feel alive, like I'd never heard the song before. Veteran and strong voices, with interesting lighting and characters that came to life Newsies at the Benedum exceeded expectations for regional theater and made it a time to remember.