When it comes to acrobatics and energy, it’s hard to find a show that competes with Disney’s Newsies, currently touring through Broadway Grand Rapids.

Throw strong singers and an interesting story into the mix and you’ve got yourself a powerful musical that easily brings the crowd to its feet at the end of the show.

Newsies is based on a true story, the News Boys Strike of 1899, though it replaces the actual leader of that real-life rebellion, Kid Blink, with Jack Kelly. The musical takes place in August of that year when Joseph Pulitzer decides to fatten his bottom line by increasing the amount of money the newsies have to pay for the newspapers they sell. The newsies banded together and refused to deliver the newspapers. They formed their own union and forced concessions from all the major newspapers and improved the way child employees got treated.

But Disney’s musical isn’t a documentary, nor is it just the story of the strike and the organizing of the newsboys. It’s also the story of Jack Kelly (Dan DeLuca). The charismatic leader of the newsboys dreams of escaping New York and going somewhere like Santa Fe where he can ride horses and be a big man in a small town rather than lost in populous New York where he lives outside in his “penthouse apartment” up in the air on a building under construction. Jack is the glue that makes the boys stick together and the voice that inspires them. He’s also an artist with a sensitive soul who falls in love during the course of the musical.

DeLuca creates a charismatic and likeable Jack. He’s not just the leader of the boys. He’s really a boy himself with dreams who genuinely cares about the other boys around him. DeLuca excels as a triple threat in this role. He is acrobatic as a dancer, can raise the roof with his belting and connects well with both audience and his fellow actors on stage. He’s the star of the show, but he also is good at blending in and giving other actors the chance to shine.

Jacob Kemp’s Davey rivals DeLuca for pure talent. He has a clear singing voice that rises above accents to provide crystal clear lyrics. He was especially stunning in the first rendition of “Seize the Day” when he emboldens the other newsies to stick with their strike and stop the trucks going out to deliver the newspapers across town.

Stealing many of his scenes, as child actors often do, is 9-year-old Vincent Crocilla as Les. He’s strong, confident and filled with attitude.

Davey and Les are brothers who, unlike many of the newsies, actually have a family. However, their father lost his job after an accident that left him injured, so the boys are now trying to earn money to feed their family. It is Davey who is able to tell Jack what he needs to do to form a union, and quickly becomes his right-hand man in leading the revolution.

Stephanie Styles plays Katherine, a reporter for The Sun newspaper who quickly becomes the love interest for Jack. She publicizes their plight and quickly becomes a partisan, supporting the strike and contributing ideas to their success. Styles portrays Katherine’s personal journey well and possesses a strong stage presence.

One of the major strengths of this show is the choreography by Christopher Gattelli. It is a highly acrobatic choreography and features flips, cartwheels, splits and pirouettes. It flavors the story, giving the boys strength and power that would have otherwise taken many scenes to establish. It is also breath-taking to watch and frequently has the audience applauding and cheering.

The one weakness to the show is that sometimes the ensemble were hard to understand when they were speaking. This was especially noticeable in the first scene after intermission right before the newsies sang “King of New York.” The dialog was projected loudly enough, but between the accents and the lack of clarity in the speech, much of the exchange was lost.

Thankfully, the singing was always clear and the orchestra, conducted by music director James Dodgson never overpowered either the big ensemble pieces nor the solos and duets.

Newsies tells a story of child labor, unions, strikes, and a boy’s pursuit for his place in the world. The music tells the story well as does the dancing and the acting by the lead players. There are many individual performances that shine in this production of Newsies, but it is the group numbers that really make this show stand out. It’s a powerful production with an energy that stomps its way through the two and half hours of the show.

Click here for show days, times and details.