NEWSIES Will Offer Free Ticket Lottery to Celebrate One Year on Broadway, 3/23-29

Newsies, The Tony Award-winning hit Broadway musical, celebrates one year on Broadway March 29th at the Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street, New York City).

To thank the fans of the show whose support brought Newsies to the Great White Way and who have made it one of Broadway's biggest hits, tickets at the Newsies lottery will be completely free for the eight performances leading up to the anniversary. Beginning two and a half hours before every performance from the evening of March 23rd through the evening of March 29th, patrons are invited to enter the lottery for up to two free tickets; winners will be drawn two hours before each performance. Winners must be present with valid identification at the time of the drawing. Complete terms and conditions of the lottery can be found below.

In its first smash year, Newsies has been seen by nearly a half-million people, broken seven Nederlander Theatre house records, and has regularly been among Broadway's top 10 shows. In December, Newsies became the Disney production to turn a profit fastest, doing so in just 41 weeks and confirming its status as one of the biggest hits of the 2011-12 Broadway season. The show received 23 major theatrical nominations - including eight Tony Award nods - and won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Score and Choreography.

On April 1st, Good Morning America will join the celebration with a special performance of "Carrying The Banner" that will take the Newsies from the streets of the Nederlander Theatre to a takeover of GMA's Times Square Studios.

Newsies features a Tony Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, with a book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, Newsies is directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award for his work.

The Broadway company of Newsies features Corey Cott as Jack Kelly, John Dossett as Joseph Pulitzer, Kara Lindsay as Katherine Plumber, LaVon Fisher-Wilson as Medda Larkin, Ben Fankhauser as Davey, Andy Richardson as Crutchie, and Joshua Colley and Nicholas Lampiasi alternating the role of Les.

Set in New York City at the turn of the century, Newsies is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged 'newsies,' who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys' expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies Newsies from across the city to strike for what's right.

Newsies is inspired by the real-life 'Newsboy Strike of 1899,' when newsboy Kid Blink led a band of orphan and runaway Newsies on a two-week-long action against Pulitzer, Hearst and other powerful newspaper publishers.

The schedule for the special 9 performance week of March 25 will be Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30pm; Friday - Saturday at 8pm; Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday at 2pm; and Sunday at 3pm.

The Nederlander Theatre box office hours are Monday through Saturday 10am - 8pm and Sunday 11:30am - 6pm. Newsies is performed on the following schedule: Monday - Wednesday at 7:30pm; Friday - Saturday at 8pm; Wednesday & Saturday at 2pm; and Sunday at 3pm. Visit NewsiesTheMusical.com for details.