Disney's Newsies: The Broadway Musical

Good movie!

source: Newsies: The Broadway Musical

Awesome dancing, singing and acting!! Some of my favorite Broadway actors like Andrew, Jeremy Jordan, Ben,

In just one word fantastic. As a Broadway fan I was so happy that Disney put this on.

10/6/17. A good production for the silver screen. As much as I would have loved to have seen this on Broadway, watching it this way actually was pretty good. You could never get the close-ups like you do with this film in the theater, not to mention the prohibitive pricing of Broadway shows.

Back in 1992, Disney had an embarrassing flop with the movie version of "Newsies" which somehow managed to gain a cult following with an audience of a certain age who used their influence to cajole Disney into turning this ugly duckling into a golden goose. Not a fan of the original movie, I did not expect much from a fully staged Broadway version, and after hearing that it was transferring from a regional run at the Paper Mill Playhouse onto the great white way, cringed. Ten attempts at winning a lottery ticket went by, and on one frigid winter evening, I finally won a single ticket. I must say, the wait was worth it, the delight at being proved wrong overwhelming, and now with a filmed version of the touring company with most of the original cast out there, it is time to call what was once the little urchin who could barely crawl off of the video shelves the real king of New York. The character of Joseph Pulitzer is made the scapegoat villain and yet reportedly was not even in New York when the real strike happened. I wonder how his descendents and historians felt about this understandable but somewhat eye rolling change in facts. Still, this is a fascinating, energetic look at one of the toughest times in New York history, when violence, corruption, greed and poverty were everywhere, and just to make a few pennies, teen boys paid up front to get newspapers to sell on the streets. But taking on powerful Joseph Pulitzer is a challenge in itself as they strike and protest for fair treatment, and through song and dance, an extreme energy erupts, and the most unlikely heroes of a Broadway musical steal their way into the hearts of audiences who had never even heard of the original movie. With a book by Harvey Fierstein ("La Cage Aux Folles", "Kinky Boots") and a score by Alan Menken ("Beauty & the Beast"/"Little Shop of Horrors") and Jack Feldman, this show became a limited run that opened itself up to a longer run, and if the number of people begging for lottery ticket entries outside the Nederlender Theater in New York is any indication, this is a show that will continue to be revived and performed in community theaters and high schools, the main reason that this made it onto professional stages in the first place. Practically all of the original cast is back, including Tony nominee Jeremy Jordan and a young and charismatic ensemble, who are excellent. Actually, all of the cast is excellent. The entire team of young performers are enthusiastic without being cloying, doing difficult dance moves and this production, beautifully filmed in HD and with terrific sound, shows every passionate movement of the Broadway show and its subsequent tour. The set looks better than any other set design I saw in my time in L.A. seeing practically every touring production at the Pantages, and you really feel either like you're actually at a live production, and seeing Broadway as it ought to be done. More shows like this need to be made available to those who can't get to New York, because it will encourage the dreamers to start saving up and those with theatrical ambitions to find the courage to pursue their dreams. The last 20 minutes of the book is rushed and weak, but the rest of the show is unforgettable if slightly flawed.

Newsies: The Musical is based on the film Newsies, which was based on real events in history. The story looks at the newsboys strike that took place in New York City in 1899. In this reflection, I'll be focusing more on the musical recording rather than the movie itself. The music is done by Alan Menken, notable for many iconic Disney songs, and lyrics done by Jack Feldman. Once the musical began, I was getting goosebumps. I may not love all the songs, but that doesn't mean they aren't good. I enjoy them all on different levels, especially the ones that have most of the cast featured on them. Those songs motivate me and get me really excited. It doesn't take long for the choreography to really stand out with the cast and ensemble jumping all over the stage, while still giving it their all when they sing. I was already awestruck watching this at home through a screen, so I can't imagine what this would be like in person. I can't talk about this musical without bringing up Jeremy Jordan, who plays the main character of the story. From the first song, he won me over. His voice is powerful and really makes you feel the emotions that his character goes through. I wasn't seeing him as an actor, but as the character. This musical is funny, empowering, entertaining, and will put a smile on your face by the end (if you haven't been smiling the whole time). I highly recommend checking it out if you're a fan of musicals and/or Disney.

I have watched this recording more than 20 times and I never get bored. Newsies is one of my favorite musicals and these cast is my favorite ever. Jeremy Jordan and Kara Lindsay have amazing chemistry and are incredible actors! I definitely recommend you watch this if you haven't.

Uplifting and inspirational, Newsies has a plot with depth (based on a historical event) character development (we care about the newsboys, especially the actor who played Crutchie, as he perfectly captured the innocence of that character), outstanding musical score, iconic dancing, and most of all keeping the audience engaged with entertainment,,, the way it's filmed gives you the illusion of having front row seats- every facial expression and reaction is seen- the movie also has very high production value with the staging, lighting, etc. makes this the gold standard for filmed staged production- and the sound mixing was stunning as well- the orchestra blends flawlessly with the actors By the end, you'll be singing along and wishing you could dance like these boys

Beautifully performed LA version of the Broadway musical. The actors, singers, dancers all on the top of their form. And the translating of the show to TV was excellent - until it came to the dance numbers. In short, these were ruined in the editing room. Just because you can cut to another shot, doesn't mean that you should. Fred Astaire had control over how his dances were filmed and insisted in full head-to-toe shots, with little or no cutting to different angles. This might seem like an austere approach, but it worked brilliantly. Gene Kelly went a step further and also produced brilliant results. It is difficult as a director to reign in the impulse to be flashy and put your mark on what you are shooting, but with dance this has to be resisted. Rob Marshall almost ruined Bob Fosse's brilliant choreography in the movie version of "Chicago". Here we have some of the world's best stage dancers giving it their all, and the director and editor got in their way. What a shame.