Disney “Newsies: The Musical” is one lean, muscular evening of theatrical entertainment

Jim Hill

13 years ago

So let me get this straight: Disney Theatrical has just
produced a brand- new Broadway show (i.e. that limited engagement of
"Newsies: The Musical" which is now running at the Nederlander
Theatre through August 19th) which isn't some special effects-filled extravaganza?

The cast of Disney "Newsies: The Musical." Photo by
Deen van Meer. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved

So there's no nanny that flies out over the audience? No
mer-people on Heelies wheeling all over the stage? No elephants or rhinos
parading down the aisles during the opening number? No magical onstage
beast-transforms -into-man bits and/or ape men bungeeing around the set? Just a
plain, old-fashioned musical where people stand onstage and then sing &
dance? Does Disney Theatrical even know how to produce a show like that?

And the answer is … Absolutely. "Newsies: The Musical"
(perhaps because it doesn't have all the bells & whistles that one
typically associates with a show produced by Disney Theatrical) is a
surprisingly effective & entertaining night at the theater.

Harvey Fierstein at the Opening Night for Disney "Newsies:
The Musical." Photo by Nancy Stadler

Mind you, a lot of the credit for making the stage version
of this 1992 Walt Disney Pictures release
work
has to be heaped at the feet of Broadway veteran Harvey Fierstein. This four time
Tony Award-winner waded into Bob Tzudiker & Noni White's original screenplay
and then significantly rejiggered the elements. Keeping the overall story (which was/is based
on real-life events that occurred during the Newsboy Strike which happened in
New York City back in 1899) in place while chucking much of the film's
secondary plot (Jack Kelly's romance with David & Les Jacobs' sister
Sarah).

To Harvey's way of thinking, the female protagonist of Disney
"Newsies: The Musical" had to be just as strong, just as feisty as
Jack Kelly was. Which is why — after drawing some inspiration from pioneering
female reporter Nellie Bly — Fierstein created a whole new character,
Katherine Plumber. This
reporter-with-a-secret who's determined to do everything she can to help make
the world aware of the Newsies' plight.
While — at the same time — unexpectedly finds herself falling for the
rough-around-the-edges-but-still-good-hearted Jack Kelly.

Kara Lindsay as Katherine Plumber and Jeremy
Jordan as Jack Kelly in Disney "Newsies: The
Musical." Photo by Deen van Meer. Copyright
Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

And once Harvey had reconfigured the story of the film
version of "Newsies" so that it would work far better for the
stage, it was now time for Alan Menken
and Jack Feldman (who wrote the songs for the 1992 movie) to revisit their original
score. Tweaking earlier tunes so that they now fit the revised narrative, not
to mention writing entirely new songs which then helped push this show's new
storyline along.

From there, it was up to director Jeff Calhoun to come up
with the best possible cast for the pilot production of Disney "Newsies:
The Musical" (which was presented at the Papermill Playhouse in New Jersey
back in September). And Calhoun really hit the jackpot when he hired
star-on-the-rise Jeremy Jordan to play Jack Kelly and then convinced Kara
Lindsay to come portray Kelly's love interest Katherine Plumber. Not to mention
hiring Broadway vet John Dossett to play that charter member of the 1% Club,
publishing giant Joseph Pulitzer.

Aaron J. Albano (L) and Jess LaProtto (R) with the cast of Disney "Newsies: The Musical."
Photo by Deen van Meer. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

But perhaps the smartest move that the execs at Disney
Theatrical made was in hiring Christopher Gattelli to handle the choreography
for "Newsies: The Musical." Gattelli is probably best known to
theater fans for his Tony-nominated work on Lincoln Center's 2008 revival of
"South Pacific
." And Christopher brings the same sort of extremely
athletic energy that he brought to the dances for "South Pacific" to
"Newsies." And then some.

Now add to the mix Tobin Ost's sparse-but-clever stage
design (where three three-story-tall metal structures get spun around the
stage and — in various different
configurations — become New York City tenements, Joseph Pulitzer's office, backstage at a
vaudeville theater and Newsies Square) and you've got this lean but really muscular
piece of theatrical entertainment.

To put it bluntly, "Newsies: The Musical" really
doesn't need any special effects or onstage illusions in order to put this new
stage musical over the top. The creative team who put together this Disney
Theatrical production knew exactly what they were doing when they adapted that
1992 Walt Disney Pictures release to the stage. They just made the necessary
adjustments to that film's narrative, dropped in six new songs and then hired
33 of the most talented performers working in musical theater today to bring this
show to life.

And the end result is now wowing audiences nightly at the
Nederlander Theater without a single performer on stilts pretending to be a
giraffe and/or someone dressed as a dancing cheese grater. Which — when you really
think about it — is pretty magical all by itself.

FYI: If you want to get a sense of what this new Broadway
show actually sounds like, head on over to Broadway World.com ASAP. Why For?
Because that website — along with WNYC — is currently hosting a first listen
to the original cast recording of Disney "Newsies: The Musical"
(which will be released on
iTunes April 10th and then in CD form on May 15th) over on their website. So go
check that out before this "Newsies" original cast recording
preview
becomes yesterday's news.

Your thoughts?