Disney's "Newsies"
From the second it was announced that "Newsies" would be screened in cinemas, I was ECSTATIC. "Newsies" is a show that I love so much and I had been dying to see it. When it was announced that some of the original cast members would be reprising their roles for the taping, I went through the roof. As I had hoped, February was here in the blink of an eye and I was ready to absorb "Newsies". As I expected, it was amazing.
"Newsies" is the story of the Newsboy Strike of 1899 and how the newsboys of New York City went on strike when the price of the papers that they purchase to sell for the New York Sun goes up for the best interest of the company's profit and not their employees. "Newsies" is an inspiring show about standing up for what is right and fair for all. "Newsies" is a treasure in every single way. The music is fantastic, the story is interesting, and the staging is brilliant. Alan Menken and Jack Feldman's music and lyrics are extremely memorable and simply marvelous, while Harvey Fierstein's book is highly engaging and enjoyable.
The performances from the cast were absolutely stellar. The lead role of Jack Kelly was played by Jeremy Jordan, who gave an emotional performance and his voice is just beautiful. His love interest, Katherine Plumber, was played by Kara Lindsay beautifully. Jordan and Lindsay work wonderfully together and easily carry each each of their scenes. Everybody in the cast was just on point, the other standouts being Steve Blanchard as Joseph Pulitzer, Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Crutchie, and Ben Fankhauser as Davey, and Ethan Steiner as Les.
The best part about "Newsies" is undoubtedly the choreography by Christopher Gattelli. Every flip, turn, and pirouette takes your breath away. In my opinion, "Newsies" has the best choreography for any Broadway show ever, along with "Hamilton" (NOTE: I have not yet seen "An American in Paris", choreography also by Gattelli). Another strong point of "Newsies" was Jeff Calhoun's direction. In a show like "Newsies", it can be very hard for the pacing to be off and for things onstage to get unorganized, especially during the chaotic fight scenes. But Calhoun's staging allowed for the show to be a well oiled machine, even during the scenes where things gets riotous onstage. The cinematography for this filming was incredible. The camera angles, close ups, and everything was just gorgeous. The camera work also did a great job displaying the set (by Tobin Ost) and lighting design (by Jeff Croiter).
I am pretty sure I have said this in my reviews for "Allegiance" and "She Loves Me", but I am so glad that this trend of screening of Broadway and touring shows is going on. With the news of PBS broadcasting "Falsettos" and the recent live broadcast of "Holiday Inn" on BroadwayHD (which I have still yet to watch), it looks like there is no end in sight for these filmings. If you want to see "Newsies" in movie theater's, there is still one more screening on February 22. If you can't make it, it will be released on DVD, so keep your eyes out for that announcement. I know that when it comes out on DVD, I am going to watch the heck out of it.
"DISNEY'S NEWSIES"
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Jack Feldman
The Broadway production of "DISNEY'S NEWSIES" was directed by Jeff Calhoun and the cast of the filmed version of the show consisted of:
Jack Kelly- JEREMY JORDAN
Joseph Pulitzer- STEVE BLANCHARD
Katherine Plummer- KARA LINDSAY
Medda Larkin- AISHA de HAAS
Davey- BEN FANKHAUSER
Crutchie- ANDREW KEENAN BOLGER
Les- ETHAN STEINER
"Newsies" is the story of the Newsboy Strike of 1899 and how the newsboys of New York City went on strike when the price of the papers that they purchase to sell for the New York Sun goes up for the best interest of the company's profit and not their employees. "Newsies" is an inspiring show about standing up for what is right and fair for all. "Newsies" is a treasure in every single way. The music is fantastic, the story is interesting, and the staging is brilliant. Alan Menken and Jack Feldman's music and lyrics are extremely memorable and simply marvelous, while Harvey Fierstein's book is highly engaging and enjoyable.
The performances from the cast were absolutely stellar. The lead role of Jack Kelly was played by Jeremy Jordan, who gave an emotional performance and his voice is just beautiful. His love interest, Katherine Plumber, was played by Kara Lindsay beautifully. Jordan and Lindsay work wonderfully together and easily carry each each of their scenes. Everybody in the cast was just on point, the other standouts being Steve Blanchard as Joseph Pulitzer, Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Crutchie, and Ben Fankhauser as Davey, and Ethan Steiner as Les.
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| Jeremy Jordan, Ben Fankhauser, Andrew Keenan Bolger, and the original Broadway cast of "Disney's Newsies" |
The best part about "Newsies" is undoubtedly the choreography by Christopher Gattelli. Every flip, turn, and pirouette takes your breath away. In my opinion, "Newsies" has the best choreography for any Broadway show ever, along with "Hamilton" (NOTE: I have not yet seen "An American in Paris", choreography also by Gattelli). Another strong point of "Newsies" was Jeff Calhoun's direction. In a show like "Newsies", it can be very hard for the pacing to be off and for things onstage to get unorganized, especially during the chaotic fight scenes. But Calhoun's staging allowed for the show to be a well oiled machine, even during the scenes where things gets riotous onstage. The cinematography for this filming was incredible. The camera angles, close ups, and everything was just gorgeous. The camera work also did a great job displaying the set (by Tobin Ost) and lighting design (by Jeff Croiter).
I am pretty sure I have said this in my reviews for "Allegiance" and "She Loves Me", but I am so glad that this trend of screening of Broadway and touring shows is going on. With the news of PBS broadcasting "Falsettos" and the recent live broadcast of "Holiday Inn" on BroadwayHD (which I have still yet to watch), it looks like there is no end in sight for these filmings. If you want to see "Newsies" in movie theater's, there is still one more screening on February 22. If you can't make it, it will be released on DVD, so keep your eyes out for that announcement. I know that when it comes out on DVD, I am going to watch the heck out of it.
 |
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Jack Feldman
The Broadway production of "DISNEY'S NEWSIES" was directed by Jeff Calhoun and the cast of the filmed version of the show consisted of:
Jack Kelly- JEREMY JORDAN
Joseph Pulitzer- STEVE BLANCHARD
Katherine Plummer- KARA LINDSAY
Medda Larkin- AISHA de HAAS
Davey- BEN FANKHAUSER
Crutchie- ANDREW KEENAN BOLGER
Les- ETHAN STEINER
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