For those who can’t get to New York for the Broadway experience many shows film productions (hopefully with the original cast) to give audiences an amazing experience, and this one can be found on Netflix streaming (as of the date of this blog so beware). Based on the Disney 1992 film, as well as the actual 1899 newsboys strike, this show under the Disney name premiered on Broadway in 2012 after a run at the legendary Papermill Playhouse the previous year and was a huge success. The show ran for two years, winning the Tony for Best Choreography and Best Original Score while nominated for six others including Best book, leading actor and musical, before going out on national tour. In 2017 a production was filmed in Los Angeles with much of the original cast coming back and was released in theaters. I had seen the Broadway version of Newsies just after a couple of the original cast members had left, but nonetheless loved it; the guy who played the lead Corey Cott is one of my Broadway crushes and highly recommend watching him live if given the chance. However when I heard about this there was no way me and my theater loving mother were going to miss out on this especially since we are huge fans of Jeremy Jordan who rocketed to super-stardom after this role. Spoilers ahead as usual. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.
Jack Kelly (Jordan) is a newspaper delivery boy with a shady past living in New York City along with several other young men in the same profession including his best friend Crutchie (Andrew Keenan-Bolger) who has a limp. Jack hates New York and often dreams of heading out west, specifically to Santa Fe. When buying their papers for the day Jack and Crutchie meet Davey (Ben Fankhauser) and his younger brother Les (Ethan Steiner) who unlike the other Newsies have a family, but need the work. Jack agrees to help them out, for a small portion and introduces them to his friend Medda Larkin (Aisha De Haas) a woman who owns a theater and often hires Jack to paint beautiful backdrops for her shows. Jack also meets Katherine Plumber (Kara Lindsay) a reporter for the New York Sun looking to break out of the society pages and soon becomes smitten with her. The next day New York World publisher Joseph Pulitzer (Steve Blanchard) announced that the price for the Newsies has gone up from fifty to sixty cents which in turn will force them to sell more papers in order to earn the same as before. Outraged Jack, along with Davey, Crutchie, Les and the other Newsies organize a strike with Katherine covering it. However Jack must decide if this is worth it after police show up along with the corrupt and evil warden of the local juvenile center and the protest ends badly. About as far as I should go without giving away the rest of the show.
Let me start off by saying how amazing this musical is. From the writing, acting and especially the choreography, Newsies is an absolutely fabulous show. For anyone that says guys can’t dance and/or do musicals show them this (there is at least one more example but that is another day). To give you just a small idea of how incredible the dancing is picture this: in the climatic number the guys are dancing on very thin newspaper pages and not slipping (for the record do not try it unless you want to break something or fall on your rear end).
Moving on, the acting was just as good as I remembered the show, even with a couple of different actors than in the show I saw. I actually saw Jeremy Jordan in a Broadway production of West Side Story as Tony about two years before he became Jack Kelly. Between this and a movie he did also in 2012 (which I plan on reviewing at a later date) I knew he looked familiar; then I heard him sing and it came back to me. Having just missed him in the original Broadway show I had to see him in the role that launched his career and let’s just say he was nominated for the Tony for a good reason. I am so happy that he has had so much success, not just on Broadway but on television shows such as Smash and Supergirl because he is so talented. Of course every great lead needs a just as good cast and this one doesn’t disappoint. Keenan-Bolger, Fankhauser, Steiner and the other Newsies are amazing singers, actors and dancers and I hope to continue watching them on Broadway. Lindsay is great as Katherine with fantastic vocals and facial expressions as I remembered from the show. I do not think I saw Blanchard as Pulitzer nor Haas as Larkin in the show, but they were still very good to watch.
I cannot forget about the great soundtrack with so many songs that will either have you belting (probably badly), tapping your foot (or trying to recreate the dance) or feeling goosebumps going up and down your arm and/or spine. The first song I want to talk about is the last song before intermission “Santa Fe” which Jordan does brilliantly (as did Cott when I watched the show) as he laments what happened at the protest and vowing to soon leave New York; it takes a lot to deliver the emotion of Kelly as well as maintain the notes. One of the most popular songs is called “Seize the Day” which is the big climatic number in the first act involving the dancing on newspapers; between that and the angelic singing I saw why this number is talked about more than the others. One of my favorite numbers is “Something to Believe In” where Jack and Katherine declare their love for one another despite some huge bumps. Other songs I recommend listening to are “Carrying the Banner”, “That’s Rich”, “The World Will Know”, “Watch What Happens” “King of New York” and “Once and For All”. Once again Newsies: The Broadway Musical is still on Netflix streaming as of this date, but I do not know how long it will be there. Until that date seize the day (so not sorry I did that) and watch this unbelievable musical.
Films or Television Worth Watching 