Jack Roden, Matt Dean and Bryce Williams in the 2026 Muny production of Disney’s Newsies. Photo by Emily Santel, The Muny
The Muny’s 108th season has been a buffet of eye candy and thrills, and it’s only halfway over. Newsies is next in line, hot on the heels of South Pacific, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s gorgeous mid-century military romance. In contrast to that high-stakes bittersweet drama, Newsies is a boisterous family adventure with the scruffy charm and polish of a Gilded Age shoeshine boy. For underfed street urchins, these kids are surprisingly spry.
It is easy to forget that Newsies began its life as a 1992 live-action film. Back then, it must have felt like a deliberate throwback—a non-animated, old-school Broadway-style musical released at the height of the Disney Renaissance. The studio received far more acclaim for Oscar-winning, era-defining animated masterpieces like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. The original Newsies, which starred a young Christian Bale, famously flopped at the box office. But culture has a funny way of correcting itself; via home video and obsessive fan demand, it gained a cult following. When the stage version premiered in 2011, the lovable underachiever received the Broadway treatment it deserved all along, along with a smartly-written book by Harvey Fierstein.
Newsies takes a highly stylized, romanticized look at the 1899 Newsboys’ Strike in New York City. The central conflict pits a group of impoverished, enterprising newsboys against Joseph Pulitzer, the owner of the New York World (as well as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Locked in fierce competition with rivals like William Randolph Hearst, Pulitzer decides to maximize profits by charging newsies 60 cents for each newspaper they sell. This was a masterclass in Mr. Burns-esque capitalist greed. The newsies had no union and little-to-no education; many had to provide for parents and siblings, and Pulitzer’s exploitative business tactics were a threat to their survival. The real strike leader, nicknamed “Kid Blink,” had one eye but plenty of charisma. Newsies opts for a more… photogenic…. leading man, but keeps that lovable Brooklyn accent.
The show is led by the fictional “Cowboy” Jack Kelly (Jack Roden), a charismatic dreamer who spends his days peddling “papes” and his nights sketching visions of a clean, quiet life in Santa Fe. He acts as the reluctant leader when Pulitzer’s price hike drives the boys to organize. Roden is joined by his best friend Crutchie (Nolan Almeida) and the brother duo Davey (Bryce Williams) and Les (little Jaron Bentley, whose adorable scene-stealing earns the biggest laughs). The group finds an unlikely ally in Katherine Plummer (Kayla Pecchioni), an entertainment reporter with a mysterious tie to Pulitzer and a sharp mind for strategy.
All of the performers — leads, ensemble dancers, and bit characters — are committed. Roden and Pecchioni provide clear, resonant vocals that drive the show’s infectious ragtime-inflected score. “Santa Fe,” Jack’s “I want” song, lands with genuine yearning, while “Seize the Day” is a rallying cry for the downtrodden. Pecchioni shines in her solo “Watch What Happens,” revealing her earnest belief in the power of journalism. While it is a shame that the fabulous Medda Larkin (Anastacia McCleskey) is limited to a single number, she makes the most of it with her clever Vaudeville turn, “That’s Rich.”
The Muny’s technical team continues to impress with their efficiency. Rolling set pieces transform the stage from a boy’s reformatory to a warehouse, a Vaudeville theater, and Pulitzer’s swanky office in mere seconds. It sustains the narrative flow and keeps the energy high, which is essential for a show that features as many pirouettes and leaps as this one.
The plot takes some outrageous turns — future POTUS Teddy Roosevelt shows up to support the strikers and settle a score with Pulitzer — but the sincerity of the cast keeps the production grounded. It feels like an American cousin to Oliver! — a sentimental coming-of-age tale with a class struggle motif and plenty of acrobatics.
Newsies’ run ended on July 22. [Editor’s note: Apologies for not getting this posted during the show’s run! The Arts STL was undergoing a site migration and we were unable to upload any new articles for a little while there. –JG] We were fortunate to catch a Friday night performance that escaped the usual St. Louis heat; a brief reprise from the humidity and the Muny’s state-of-the-art fan system kept the evening breezy. However, a word of advice: arrive early. The turnout for Friday’s show was huge, and the streets of Forest Park were completely lined with cars. Plan accordingly, bring a copy of the Post-Dispatch to read while you wait, or flip through the evening’s beautiful and detailed program. The printed word is a powerful thing — just ask Pulitzer. | Rob Von Nordheim
