arts & life

theater

E xtra! Extra!

Read all about

Josh Assor, heading

to Detroit with

Newsies.

Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer

•

osh Assor had lots of specif-
ics to learn when he joined
the team touring with the
musical Newsies — 15 different
roles in what has been called "a
cult phenomenon" among fans.
Besides being assistant dance
captain, Assor agreed to be one
of three swings, ready to take
on any of the newsboy roles
on a moment's notice. He also
became acquainted with Fansies,
this show's uncommon group of
organized admirers who generally
appear outside the stage door after
each performance.
Newsies — and very likely
Fansies — can be seen Dec. 15-27
at the Detroit Opera House.
"I think this is one of the most
fun shows I've done because
it's so athletic:' Assor says in a
phone conversation from Fort
Lauderdale, one of the many tour
stops. "It's a dream job for any
male dancer.
"It's also a well-respected show
because of the themes of sticking
together and standing up for what
is right.
"Being part of Newsies also is
special because of the Fansies.
They're so devoted, and we're so
thankful for them. I've never done
a show with so much of a follow-
ing. We finish a performance,
and there can be hundreds and
hundreds of fans at the stage door.
They give us so much energy"
Newsies, set in New York City
during the early 1900s, tells about
Jack Kelly, leader of the newsboys

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— hundreds of boys, often home-
less or orphaned, who sold news-
papers in New York City — who
dreams of a better life. When pub-
lishing giants Joseph Pulitzer and
William Randolph Hearst raise
distribution prices at the expense
of the teenage workers, Jack orga-
nizes a strike.
The show is inspired by an
actual newsboy strike in 1899,
when Kid Blink led orphan and
runaway newsies on a two-week-
long action against Pulitzer,
Hearst and other powerful pub-
lishers.
"I think the most powerful
moment in the show is when all
the Newsies make their decision
to strike Assor says. "The way
it's told through the choreography
has everybody dancing in unison.
I feel such a rush by doing that
number."
The musical was inspired by
the 1992 Disney film starring
Christian Bale. The film, with a
soundtrack that soared with music
by Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack
Feldman, was a box-office flop,
but the classic underdog story of
poor kids challenging the greedy
industrialists, straight from the
pages of history, gradually gained
steam with a devoted cult follow-
ing via video and DVD.
The devotion increased when,
in 2012, the film was adapted into
a play written by Harvey Fierstein
(La Cage aux Polies), directed by
Jeff Calhoun and choreographed
by Christopher Gattelli, who won

