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At the end of March “Newsies” will come to Broadway to run for 101 performances through June. “Wait,” you might say, “wasn’t ‘Newsies’ already on Broadway?” Nope, when the musical ran in fall 2011 it actually played off-Broadway at a theater in New Jersey. Thanks to its popularity, both with critics and the general public (i.e., in ticket sales), it now gets to play on the Great White Way at the Nederlander Theatre from March 29 to June 15. Previews begin on March 15.
“Broadway revival” is a popular term, though it usually refers to once-famous New York shows that return after not having run for a while. “Newsies” is more like a story of a little engine, or musical, that could. Its incarnation as a 1992 movie musical was an expensive, embarrassing flop for Disney.
It gained popularity on home release, particularly with the audience (teen girls) to which it should have been marketed, instead of the target group Disney actually went after (children). Although I adore “Newises,” because I saw it at the right time in my life, I’ve always acknowledged its many flaws.
These flaws, however, seem to have been fixed by its stage rebirth. I can’t speak for its quality myself, not having seen it (as much as I might want to), but I read a lot about it when it debuted last year. Not only was it roundly well-received by critics, some even called it one of the best Disney musicals to tread the boards in years. That’s high praise.
“Newises” will hit Broadway with its original theater cast mostly intact. That includes Jeremy Jordan, who made a lauded turn as lead Jack Kelly. He was part of the original run only because his big Broadway commitment – the title male lead in “Bonnie & Clyde” – was in daytime rehearsals while “Newsies” played. Good for us (though not good for anyone involved in the production) “Bonnie & Clyde” flopped in December, so Jordan is free to carry the banner once again.
The musical owes its real success, however, to its book writer Harvey Fierstein. Alan Menken’s involvement was fantastic, but then I always thought the original score from “Newsies” was its strongest point. Nothing needed to be changed there, unless they wanted to add a few more songs. But it’s four-time Tony winner Fierstein’s reworking of the problematic story that really allowed “Newsies” to become the true hit it always deserved.
Back when I reported on the then-forthcoming New Jersey stage debut of “Newsies,” I wished it would become popular enough that it would make it to Broadway. Now that that’s done, I want to make another wish: let it be a smash on the Great White Way. Let it be so popular that its production, like many other famous “Broadway” shows, will tour around major cities in the United States. That way I actually have a chance of seeing “Newsies” on the stage. Make it happen, Broadway.
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*(This image by PeterJBellis is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
