In this broadway rendition of the Disney film Newsies, Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical! takes the classic tale of the 1899 newsies strike to the stage. In this live retelling of Newsies, Jack Kelly (Jeremy Jordan) leads a group of fellow newsies against the harrowing Joseph Pulitzer (Steve Blanchard), a newspaper tycoon, so that they may receive better pay and some semblance of respect. On their venture they will learn a thing or two about life and themselves.
An important part of Broadway is the audience. Without an audience that’s willing to get involved and play along with the play, it can be difficult for viewers at home, watching a recording of the play, to appreciate what is being done and said. This certainly isn’t the only thing that propels a stage play forward, but it can play a significant role regardless. In this taping of Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Play! the audience has fully bought into the narrative, the actors, and the comedy. This audience is lively, and they add to what the play has to offer.
Any retelling of a story provides filmmakers the opportunity to improve upon the original product, and Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Play! does just this. The 1992 film has its issues, and I struggled to find much merit in what its cast and crew attempted to create. There are a number of aspects of this journey that are upgraded, and the stage play is far more inventive, entertaining, and successful than its sister project.
Upgrade #1 (and the most important): The choreography. Choreographer Christopher Gattelli finds new moves to pair with the soundtrack, and it allows this story to come to life in an entirely new way. Newsies is full of boring, rudimentary choreography that feels out of place and out of tune with the story–but Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical! incorporates far more lively and enticing visuals in the form of dance. While a lot of that comes from Gattelli, the majority of dancing success comes as a result of the talents on stage. These actors are full of life, they captivate viewers, and they awe anyone willing to watch this performance.
Other upgrades include the voice talent (most of the talents anyway), the acting (again, most), and Crutchie (Andrew Keenan-Bolger). Starting with the star of the show, Jordan, and trickling all the way down to everyone except for Aisha De Haas (Medda Larkin), the performers possess a vocal talent that escaped nearly everyone in Newsies. Their talent is clear, and the ability to hit each and every note and their capacity to reach the audience is quite impressive. Like the voice talent, this cast manages to bring a great energy that transcends the entirety of the play. They convey excitement, anger, and admiration with ease, and they do a great job of filling the shoes of their characters. Even with the talent that clearly exists in the majority of these actors, I still struggle with the validity of the New York accents; they seem forced, over the top, and a tad off-putting. Crutchie is one of the most annoying characters in the entire film. From his voice to his acting ability, just about every second of the film that included him frustrated me. Keenan-Bolger, however, flips the script on this important character in Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical!. His voice (both speaking and singing) is better, and he’s a phenomenal actor. In the grand scheme of the narrative, Crutchie isn’t all that important, making it all the more impressive that he’s able to entertain in the fashion that he does.
With all of the improvements, there is one glaring issue that haunts the musical, and that’s Les (Ethan Steiner). The character used to be subtle, cute, and appealing in a very naive and innocent, but headstrong fashion. Steiner’s rendition of the character is far louder and far more annoying. Furthermore, Steiner struggles to convey emotion appropriately–and his role in the play struggles as a result.
No one thinks twice about the cinematography of a Broadway performance, because the majority of the performances are meant for live audiences only. In this recorded version of Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical! the cinematography isn’t just good, it’s great. Headed by Clayton Jacobsen, the camera captures everything at the perfect angle, presenting home viewers with riveting fight scenes and emotionally gripping moments that could only be seen in this fashion with true cinematic greatness.
Newsies was a drag, and I struggled with the majority of that film. Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical!, however, is a different ball game. The musical is far more entertaining, and, with the fun dial turned up to eleven, it surpasses the expectations that I had. I’m not a fan of musicals, and nowhere near a fan of Broadway plays, but I’d go as far to say that I’d recommend this play–especially if you're a fan of Broadway. It truly is a lot of fun, and through the many improvements over its cinematic predecessor, Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical! is, dare I say it, a good musical.
Directed by Jeff Calhoun & Brett Sullivan.
Written by Harvey Fierstein, Bob Tzudiker, & Noni White.
Starring Jeremy Jordan, Kara Lindsay, Ben Fankhauser, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Steve Blanchard, Aisha De Haas, Ethan Steiner, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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