By Ron Baumanis

Those who know me already know that I love Newsies. In fact, I was sorely disappointed when Once (which I did not like) won the Tony for best Musical in 2012. Newsies walked away with Tonys for Best Choreography and Best Score, though it should have won for Best Set, Best Direction, Best Costume Design, and best Lighting Design. It probably should have won Best Musical, but who am I to argue with the folks who thought Once deserved the win since it needed help at the Box Office and future tour.

All that notwithstanding, Newsies arrives on its National Tour in Detroit, and it is as fresh as it was during its first weeks in New York. See my original review here:

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What’s different? Well, the set has been adopted a bit for the tour —  its lighter (but still weights 6 tons); the solid wall proscenium for the theater scenes has been replaced by a lighter curtain unit. But Tobin Ost’s remarkable set and Sven Ortel’s projections are there in all their glory. There are also some slight blocking and choreography changes — and one added scene: Crutchie now gets a song in the second act called “Letter from the Refuge” (which gives him something to do in the second act once he’s been snatched off the streets).

Read entire review here