An all-singing, all-dancing musical about workers going out on strike to fight for a decent living wage? The London opening of Newsies could not be more topical. Yet this is set in a different century, in a different country - if nothing else, it shows that where rampant capitalism is concerned some things never change.
This boisterous production set in 1899, with music by Alan Menken (Hercules, Aladdin), lyrics by Jack Feldman and book by Harvey Fierstein, tells the story of a group of urchins who scrape a living selling newspapers on the New York streets. But when their miserly publisher Joseph Pulitzer hikes up the wholesale price they pay for their papers they crack and fight back.
This London premiere follows a 1992 film starring Christian Bale and a 2012 Broadway production which won two Tony awards. It comes courtesy of Disney and there is more than a whiff of Dick Van Dyke and the assorted rooftop chimney sweeps from Mary Poppins to some of the set-pieces.
The cast is led by Michael Ahomka-Lindsay as Jack Kelly, the inspirational leader of the ragtag rebels who goes head to head with the preening Pulitzer (Cameron Blakely), so villainous he doesn’t need to twirl his moustache to confirm he’s the baddie. Ahomka-Lindsay is compelling, but this is very much an ensemble work.
This version, directed and choreographed by Olivier nominee Matt Cole, bristles with infectious energy. It is corny at times – a romance between Kelly and cub reporter Katherine Plumber (Bronté Barbé) is both contrived and underwritten – but the gusto is irresistible, with the predominantly male troupe doing flips, leaps and some anachronistic breakdancing at the drop of a flat cap.
The songs are accessible, rousing and infectious, somewhere between Les Mis and West Side Story. The world’s coyest burlesque scene ("I can see her legs!") and Moya Angela belting out a number as Medda breaks things up. Set design, by Morgan Large, places a large tenement block upstage, leaving plenty of space at the front for the physical action.
If there is quibble it is the formulaic plot. You can quickly see how this is going to pan out early on. The first half is slightly overlong. It feels as if it should end on the euphoric song and dance number when they punch the air and decide to withdraw their labour, but instead continues and the energy dips.
Not quite hold the front page headlines then, and you might not stride out into the street determined to demand a pay rise in the morning. But the message of strength through solidarity could not be more timely.
