Newsies Review – Broadway’s Must See
Editor: Please welcome guest author Jim Dallas who is reviewing the April 20th showing of Newsies The Musical.
Newsies on Broadway is a must see!
I first became an avid fan of composer Alan Menken when I saw The Little Mermaid at the movies. But I knew he was really a Broadway composer when I first listened to the Beauty and the Beast sound track and could visualize how each scene could be animated. He brought the Broadway score to animation. So, back in 1992 I was excited to learn that Disney was producing a live action musical, Newsies, with a score by Alan Menken. It sounded like a sure fire hit. My family was in the theater that April weekend when Newsies had its’ theatrical debut. There was one problem: we were the only people in the theater! Newsies never found an audience, closed quickly and barely earned 2.8 million dollars. For all of the issues that plagued this film, the songs and score by Menken were still brilliant, allowing Newsies to grow in popularity and develop a cult following over the past two decades.
Last evening, 20 years later, I sat in the sold out Nederlander Theater in NYC amidst an exuberant audience to experience Newsies – the Broadway Musical. Newsies had come home, was on the stage where it always belonged and was in better form than ever. Newsies is an exhilarating evening of musical theater entertainment.
Disney Theatrical has started a fun series where the main characters from The Newsies are introduced to YouTube fans by the actors who play them. The latest is Jeremy Jordan who plays Jack Kelly. He talks a bit about Kelly and how he found himself wanting a career on the stage.