If you’re still familiar with your history lessons in school, you may remember the 1899 newsboys’ strike, which took place in New York City in the late 1890s. This event inspired the 1992 film and it garnered countless accolades and various reviews from different film critics. The current musical is headed by Alan Menken, who was also the music director for many of Disney’s animated movies like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, etc. The musical’s lyrics were written by Jack Feldman, and a book dedicated to the musical, written by Harvey Fierstein, was later published. Newsies first screened in 2011 at the Paper Mill Playhouse and then made its first Broadway run in early 2012.
The play is inspired by true events that occurred in the summer of 1899 and centers on the story of a headstrong young newsboy named Jack Kelly. The boy was rebellious and ambitious at the same time. While his playmates and friends wanted nothing more than a lifetime of bliss smoking cigars, sunbathing, helping out in the family business, and wearing suspenders all day, Jack wanted more. He wants to become an artist one day, but an artist away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. He worked as a newsboy for a while, helping to put bread on the family’s table.
But when the largest publisher at the time, Joseph Pulitzer, overcharged newspapers at the expense of poor paperboys, Jack and his friends decided to take matters into their own hands. One of the most prominent characters in the musical is the pretty reporter Katherine Plumber. She is the catalyst of the turning point of events, since she acts in favor of the newspaper boys.
Newsies will be a sensational Broadway musical hit in the Big Apple. It’s packed with a remarkable set of choreography and, of course, Disney legend Alan Menken’s all-time favorite hits. Theater-goers of all ages are sure to be delighted and captivated by the impressive production. The 1992 movie was definitely sensational; The producers of the stage musical aim to bring the play to a new, younger audience while allowing fans to reminisce about the film’s glory days. There are many songs adapted by the musical from the actual movie, and a love story is told between the ambitious Jack Kelly and the beautiful Katherine Plumber.
The Broadway musical will be a sure hit for the whole family. In a world where love songs, romance, and stories about life put into performance end in disappointment, misfortune, or tragedy, one will find the true measure of strength and love in this musical setting.