Carrying The Banner

My Easter Sunday this year included a ticket to see "Newsies" at the Pantages Theatre.  I told myself that if I was only going to limit myself to one theatre production this year, it would be this one.  

Karla had seen the show already and told me that they had Newsies caps for sale, as well as a tote bag that kinda looks like the Newsies' bags.  I was only going to get a cap, but the bag was only $5.00 with the purchase of the cap, so now I have yet another bag.  But it has the Newsies logo on it!  And I can pretend that I have newspapers to sell. Perhaps I'll put old newspapers in there and sell them for a penny a pape.

My seat was in the balcony, house left, 6 rows up.  Thank you, Goldstar, for selling me the ticket!  I had to brace myself a bit because I really do love the original music from the movie, and I knew there would be changes for the theatre production.

• The show opens with Jack and Crutchie on a rooftop, with Jack's yearning to go to Santa Fe.  I like that their bond is more fleshed out here, and Jack's dream is even more pronounced than in the movie.
• Then the dancing starts.  Wow.  The dancing.  These boys can DANCE!!! I think that "Carrying the Banner" was my favorite dance piece of the night.  I'm not sure if it's because of how amazed I was at the beginning of the show, or if it's because it's one of my favorite songs from the score, but I just love seeing guys dance like that, so that number certainly did not disappoint me.
• Oh, Medda.  I adore you.  Angela Grovey was outstanding in this part.  And that voice!  That was the vocal highlight of the evening for me.
• I enjoyed Katherine's "Watch What Happens".  Stephanie Styles clearly has fun with this song, and those are a lot of lyrics!
• I miss the Bill Pullman part from the movie, but I do like how Katherine fits in instead.  Davey's sister didn't get near enough screen time in the film.
• I think, though, that David's part was less than it should have been.  I really liked his dynamic with Jack in the film, and it was lost here amid all of the other stuff going on.  
• I miss the lyric "Open the Gates" during "Seize The Day".  It sounds wrong this other way.  I know that the gate thing is different here, but I still want them to sing it.  Perhaps this is another reason that "Carrying the Banner" was my favorite that night, because it wasn't so very different lyrically.
• I like the tap dancing during "King of New York".  I like all of the dancing.  ALL of it.  So awesome.
• Spot and his Brooklyn buddies should have had a bigger part.  I don't know how, but they should have.
• I didn't know Jack was an artist.  No wonder he wants to go to Santa Fe.  
• Yeah, that's a lot of stairs to climb up and down multiple times, and dance, and sing, especially during "Once and for All".  My goodness, they must be exhausted and hungry at the end of the night.  

That was a fun show.  Man, I wish I could dance like that!