Breaking News: New Local Theatre Company Brings NYC to Lethbridge
- Cassandra Navratil
- Jul 16
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 7
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! This past Thursday, I was given the opportunity to attend Phoenix Arts Co.’s premiere production: the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Newsies.
They have brought the energy-charged streets of 1899 New York City to life right here in Lethbridge and, let me tell you, the audience was fully enthralled by every street fight, song, twirl, and tap! From ambitious choreography to heartfelt performances, it’s clear that the team at Phoenix isn’t just putting on a show; they’re building a community.
Artistic Director and long-time performer, Chris Kyle Peterson, saw a lack of consistency with musicals being produced in Lethbridge, especially with opportunities for local youth and young adults, and a hole that needed to be filled from an audience standpoint.
She wanted to create a place to showcase local talent of all ages with community and educational experiences as its primary focus.
“Live theatre is one of the few places—maybe the only place—where people from all different backgrounds (political, socioeconomic, etc.) can come together and have a similar and uniting experience. It felt extra important in a society that is so divisive right now, and I was looking for a way to unite people in a creative way locally,” explained Chris.
Keeping things local is something that she greatly values. Every single member of the cast and crew are either originally from Lethbridge or currently Lethbridge-based. You will even find a nod to our very own Lethbridge Herald in the show, as all the newspapers on stage (apart from a couple Newsies headlined “papes”) are recycled donations from the local newspaper.
As for why they chose Newsies as their first staged production, Chris laughed and said, “Our director suggested it!”
She went on to explain that, as previously mentioned, Phoenix values education, and Newsies allowed for a wide range of ages in its cast members. Having that wide range provided mentorship opportunities for the younger cast from more mature and seasoned actors, and a sense of renewed energy for the mature actors from the younger ones.
“Newsies promotes a message of chosen family, forgiveness, redemption, and choosing to do the right thing in the face of adversity,” Chris said, “which is appropriate for our current time in the world.”
The show definitely has high-energy, high-calibre levels of music and choreography, with the Manhattan Newsies showcasing their vocal prowess while the Brooklyn Newsies pirouette and leap up and down the aisles. Don’t be fooled, though; the actors who came in as vocalists are coming out as dancers, and vice versa! Newsies gave both groups an opportunity to hone in on each other’s skills, with an excellent musical director and choreographer to guide and encourage them in all disciplines.
What’s next for Phoenix Arts Co.? November 5th to 15th, 2025 will see Little Women come to the stage at the Sterndale Bennett Theatre. In a unique configuration that has not been done before, the show will be presented in the round, with seating 360 degrees around the stage.
Chris is hoping that after leaping over some technical hurdles to have Little Women arranged this way (ticketing software, getting the all-clear from the Fire Marshal), shows can be continued in this style in the future.
Phoenix Arts Co. is planning to continue offering summer shows, which will be focused on showcasing our local youth and young adult performers, fall/winter shows, which will feature more adults and seasoned community performers, and spring shows with college-aged actors being the principal cast.
As Chris said, “Lethbridge is a hidden gem of the arts that shouldn’t be hidden—it should just be a gem!”
Newsies continues its second week of shows at the Yates, July 15th to 19th, 2025, and tickets are available through the VisitLethbridge.com Arena website.
