impressions of west endsies (or, why you should see it immediately)
i saw london's new production of newsies sunday. it was everything i imagined and more. if you have the chance, sit in woodside or just any of the side ones. they throw copies of the banner and the torn newspapers into the audience. it now has a place of honor on my wall.
these are the absolute chaotic crackhead thoughts (edited for clarity) that i frantically typed into my notes app, along with post-show additions because i couldn't stop thinking about it.
i bought a pin and it's going right on my nerd jacket
THE OVERTURE IS A DANCE NUMBER
THEY START BEHIND THE AUDIENCE AND DANCE IN THE AISLES
DO THE WHOLE "EXTRA EXTRA" THING TOWARDS THE AUDIENCE
I SHIT YOU NOT, ONE GUY FLIES DOWN THE CENTER AISLE ON A ZIPLINE WHILE HAWKING PAPES
Jack has sketches all around his penthouse!! and a santa fe postcard he shows crutchie
oh yeah, i am obsessed with this crutchie
they are so chaotic and i am in love
"blind, mute, DEAD" guy jumps on the others
race my beloved,,, less ditzy than broadway and i love him all the same
his cigar actually smokes and he does it the whole act
Davey sounds amazing, pitch perfect pre-strike nervous boi
small thing, but papers in the stacks the delanceys hand out are different sizes corresponding to the number of papes the newsies buy and it makes me happy
Newsies are just vibing during office scene, they are sleeping in the aisles!!!
love Hannah, she's a sassy queen
they don't run on scaffolding, they run in the aisles!!! it really hypes you up and makes you feel involved in the action
newsies come to watch meddas show, and they're adorable
medda has BACKGROUND DANCERS (who become the brooklyn newsies!!!)
no seriously i can't stress enough how awesome the theater scenes are
kathy is a badass bitch and i love her
he hands the drawing right to her
i don't have any notes on "the world will know" because i was too focused getting my mind blown by the entire number
race looks like Jeremy Jordan and he smiled in my general direction earlier
"who wants Brooklyn" they all very dramatically hide, i love it
i like how the newsies visbily and audibly respond to katherine's descriptions of them
my darling davey is less confrontational at this point but so sassy
One of them shouted "for fucks sake" when les went to davey instead of hanging out
Kathy thanks the newsies that bring on her desk
Newspaper sword fight before they dance on the papers!!
there's another ballet boy doing those super hard turns and he did MORE OF THEM
Les got LIFTED INTO THE AIR during the fight scene
ALERT: DAVEY AND JACK ARE IN THE BIG DANCE NUMBERS MORE OFTEN THEN USUAL (not doing the elaborate jumping stuff, but still!!!!)
i was on the cusp of tears the whole time and they spilled over during Santa Fe
on the way to the bathroom i picked up one of the pieces of the newspapers they threw into the crowd during seize the day, it is on my wall now
act two and i am ready to be emotionally damaged even more
RACE IS EVERYTHING TO ME IN EVERY ITERATION
les starts the tap of KONY while on a table
there is less tap than in livesies, but more creativity when it comes to involving the whole group
tables as cars!! they pretend to drive around and it's adorable
They saw hadestown's 'wait for me' swinging lights and said "we can do it better" and y'know what??? they fucking nailed it (no shade, i love both numbers more than life)
katherine has a crown of sppooons
jack is painting the same backdrop as broadway during "watch what happens reprise" and i actually squeaked
davey is whipped (at least that's what i see lmao)
i'm loving confident davey, his character development is everything!!
his deliberate way of saying "we are inevitable" really tugs at my heart man
BROOKLYN IS ALL GIRLS!! they start in the audience, then sing on their way to the stage and GET A DANCE NUMBER
no seriously I LOVE THEM SO MUCH
during the rally, the newsies are actually standing in the borough they shout out (the "woodside's here!" gang was like 6 feet away from me on a riser)
the newsies really feel like kids fighting for a cause
love something to believe in; gotta say, wasn't really feeling this jatherine until this scene, because man they killed it
here comes once and for all, which will never fail to hype me up
they changed the "you got your thugs..." lyric and i was too busy mouthing along to the song to remember what is was changed to
lanterns during once and for all! they lit it like it was night and the lanterns added to the ~vibe~
AND they do the bundle tossing thing in the central aisle and towards the exits, i was mesmerized
then they go to the rest of the aisles and throw the banners into the crowd (one of which i have)
the newsies vs pulitzer is everything??? spot and davey??? amazing
davey says sandstorms instead of tarantulas
i would die for the whole jacobs family
of course, curtain call for newsies is mindblowing
i made eye contact with race at one point during the show and it made my evening even better
they got MULTIPLE standing ovations during the show and i stood up during the applause for "once and for all" (no one else did) because that one deserved a standing ovation too
when i walked out of the theater, it had started snowing in wembley for the first time this year :)))
a magical, rousing, fantastic show that i eagerly recounted to my friends and boyfriend when i got back to our accommodation
tl;dr please oh please if you have the opportunity, go see newsies! it is unforgettable and worth every penny!!
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
kianamaiart
janainaart
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annaxmalina
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