You’d think — what with getting the revival of “Jekyll & Hyde” ready for its 13 week-long, limited engagement at the Marquis Theatre — that director Jeff Calhoun wouldn’t have any time left for his other Broadway show, Disney’s “Newsies.”
But that’s where you’d be wrong. Last month while he was out-of-town with this Frank Wildhorn musical in Chicago, Jeff used his one day off from “Hyde” to nip off to NYC’s Nederlander Theatre to go check up on “Newsies.” Making sure that this Tony Award-winner remained in tip-top shape as it began its second year on Broadway.
“We’ve had a lot of new kids come into the show over the past few
months. So I’ve made a point of regularly going by the Nederlander
Theatre to work with the cast,” Calhoun explained. “I want to make sure
that the newer members of the ‘Newsies’ cast are just as sharp, just as well-rehearsed as the original members of this cast were.”
Mind you, for Jeff, going back to the Nederlander is kind of like Old Home Week. Back when Calhoun worked with Tommy Tune, that Broadway legend used to rehearse all of his shows in that then-all-but-abandoned theater.
Director Jeff Calhoun
“That was something that Tommy was famous for. If you hired him to
direct your show, Tommy wasn’t going to work in some bland rehearsal
hall. He always had to work inside a theater. So that he could then see
what a scene might actually look like when it was up on a real stage as
he was still shaping & modeling that show,” Jeff continued. “So we
rehearsed ‘The Will Rogers Follies
,’ ‘Busker Alley
,’ ‘Grease
,’ even
‘Tommy Tune Tonite!’ there. I’ve spent an awful lot of the past 20 years
in and around the Nederlander Theatre.”
Of course, what’s kind of ironic about “Newsies” now doing eight performances a week at Calhoun’s old stomping grounds is that this particular Walt Disney Theatrical production was never ever supposed to go to Broadway.
“I swear to God. The original plan for ‘Newsies’ was that we were just going to do the pilot production at the Paper Mill Playhouse.
Prove that the stage version of this Disney movie actually worked with
audiences and then just make the show available for licensing for
regional productions,” Jeff insisted. “Disney Theatrical had had so many
inquiries from high school & colleges about whether there was a
script available for a stage version of ‘Newsies’ that this pilot
production at the Paper Mill Playhouse was just supposed to be a means
to an end. A way for Disney to meet that demand.”
But even back when Calhoun & this show’s creative team were just getting “Newsies”
up on its feet, back when the temporary sets which the cast was pushing
around that empty rehearsal space were made out of unpainted plywood,
Jeff sensed that this pilot production had some real potential.
“Now you have to understand that I had never seen the movie version of ‘Newsies
.’ Even
now, I still haven’t. I really have to get around to seeing that movie
someday,” Calhoun laughed. “Anyway … Even when I was seeing the stage
version of ‘Newsies’ in its rawest possible form, there was
something so cinematic about this show. Something so dynamic about the
guys as they stood there in that rehearsal space singing Alan Menken & Jack Feldman‘s songs and performing Chris Gattelli‘s choreographer that I thought to myself: Maybe this pilot production could go further than the Paper Mill Playhouse.”
“In this business, you just never know. There’s always more heartache
than there is success. But with this particular production — and the
very smart way that Disney Theatrical had put the whole thing together
— right from the get-go, ‘Newsies’ had the potential to be
something special,” Jeff continued. “And at each stop along the way —
from the weeks we spent in that rehearsal hall to the month we were out
in front of an audience at the Paper Mill Playhouse right up until we
opened on Broadway — the creative team kept writing new lines, adding
songs, tightening scenes. Always looking for ways to improve this show.”
Members of the “Newsies” cast & creative team celebrate the one year
anniversary of Disney’s “Newsies” Broadway opening
As for which member of the “Newsies” creative team was the most
responsible for this show’s success … Well, while Calhoun doesn’t like
to play favorites, he was quick to credit Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein with the clever way that he took Bob Tzudiker & Noni White‘s original screenplay and reimagined it for the stage.
“So much of what makes ‘Newsies’ work on Broadway can be traced
straight back to Harvey. He was the one who came up with the idea of
book-ending Act One with ‘Santa Fe.’ Harvey was also the one who decided
to change Jack’s original love interest — who used to be David &
Les’s sister in the movie — and then turning her into this pioneering
girl reporter. Which — if I’m remembering correctly — Harvey based on a
real person, Nellie Bly,” Calhoun stated. “And every one of those changes, those new story choices that Harvey made just make ‘Newsies’ a better & stronger vehicle for the stage.”
But if Jeff had to pick the main reason that “Newsies” has become
such a big hit on Broadway, to his way of thinking, it’s all due to the
talented teenagers & young adults who make up the cast of this
show.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
“When we initially opened at the Nederlander in March of 2011, we had
27 actors who were making their Broadway debuts,” Calhoun stated. “So
while the ‘Newsies’ cast may not have been long on stage
experience, they more than made up it with energy & enthusiasm. And
that just comes rolling off the stage each night and energized the
audiences who are watching this show.”
This is why — in order to make sure that “Newsies” maintains
its high energy & enthusiasm levels — Jeff has kept a close eye on
how this show has been recast. Making sure that each singer/dancer who
leaves this Disney Theatrical Production is replaced by an equally
talented performer.
“Now what’s been kind of interesting is that — as ‘Newsies’ has
been going along and we’ve brought in replacement performers — the ages
of the kids that we’ve been casting has been skewing younger &
younger. We’re now hiring 18 & 19 year-olds,” Calhoun explained.
“Which was the age that a lot of the newsboys were when they went out on
strike in 1899. So in a weird sort of way, because we’ve now got more
age-appropriate performers appearing in this show, ‘Newsies’ is actually more authentic now than when it initially opened on Broadway.”
Real “Newsies” back in the day
This sort of interesting factoid clearly tickled Jeff. But to
Calhoun’s way of thinking, the very best part of being associated with “Newsies” is the impact that this Disney Theatrical production is having far beyond Broadway.
“For my generation, what made us dream of going to Broadway was the original production of ‘A Chorus Line.’ When I was growing up in Pittsburgh, I’d catch clips of that Michael Bennett
musical on television and think: That’s what I want to do with my
life,” Jeff recalled. “And when you think about how good Disney
Theatrical has been about getting ‘Newsies’ out there on television — whether it’s on ‘Dancing with the Stars‘ or on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day pre-parade show or earlier this month on ‘Good Morning America‘
— you gotta wonder how many kids are seeing our cast dance on
television and then thinking: That’s what I want to do with my life. I
want to go to Broadway and dance. I’d kill to know what’s going on in
dance schools all over the country right now. How many young guys are
coming through the door and signing up for classes, all because they’ve
seen Newsies on television and dream of someday dancing in a show like that.”
Which then begs the question: Given that Calhoun is obviously so proud to be associated with “Newsies,” does it bother him that — given all of his outside commitments these days (EX: getting this “Jekyll & Hyde”
revival ready for its limited Broadway engagement) — he’s only able to
get over to the Nederlander Theatre once or twice a month now?
Tommy Tune (L) and Jeff Calhoun at the Broadway
opening night for Disney’s “Newsies”
“Not really,” Jeff said with a smile. “One of the lessons that Tommy
Tune taught me is that you never break up a winning team. So when I went
off to work on ‘Jekyll & Hyde,’ I took a lot of the ‘Newsies’
design team with me. So even when I’ll be at the Marquis working on my
new show, it will still feel & sound like I’m right back at the
Nederlander.”