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Exclusive Breaking News: Disney to Film NEWSIES Live in August; Jeremy Jordan & Kara Lindsay to Return

By: Jul. 27, 2016
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Exclusive Breaking News: Disney to Film NEWSIES Live in August; Jeremy Jordan & Kara Lindsay to Return  Image

Now IS the time to seize the day! BroadwayWorld has learned that Disney will film NEWSIES this August, at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. Returning for the filming will be original Broadway cast members Jeremy Jordan and Kara Lindsay. The production, currently on tour plays the Pantages from Aug. 30, 2016 - Sept. 4, 2016. There is no word yet if the production is headed towards the big or small screen, or who else might be joining or re-joining the cast for the filming.

The tour currently features Joey Barreiro as "Jack Kelly," Steve Blanchard as "Joseph Pulitzer," Morgan Keene as "Katherine," Aisha de Haas as "Medda Larkin", Anthony Norman as "Oscar Delancey," Stephen Michael Langton as "Davey," Andy Richardson as "Crutchie" and Turner Birthisel and Ethan Steiner alternating the role of "Les."

Rounding out the current tour cast are Bill Bateman, Josh Burrage, Kevin Carolan, Michael Dameski, Julian DeGuzman, Nico DeJesus, JP Ferreri, Sky Flaherty, Kaitlyn Frank, Michael Gorman, Stephen Hernandez, Meredith Inglesby, James Judy, Eric Scott Kincaid, Beth Stafford Laird, Devin Lewis, Eric Jon Mahlum, Nicholas Masson, Michael J. Rios, Jordan Samuels, Daniel Switzer, Andrew Wilson, Chaz Wolcott, Iain Young and Anthony Zas.

NEWSIES, the new American musical, features a Tony Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, a book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein and is 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 entire creative team has reunited to bring the break-out smash musical to audiences across North America.

When it opened on March 29, 2012, NEWSIES was intended for a Broadway run of just 101 performances. The show's fiercely devoted fans had other ideas, however; they propelled the show to a run of 1005 performances, attendance of more than 1 million and a gross of over $100M.

While on Broadway, NEWSIES set and broke seven Nederlander Theatre house records and became the highest-grossing show from 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.

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 stage version introduces seven brand-new songs by the original team of Menken and Feldman, including a song written specifically for the tour called 'Letter from the Refuge,' while keeping many of the beloved songs from the film, including 'Carrying the Banner, 'Seize the Day,' 'King of New York' and 'Santa Fe.'

Since the film's 1992 theatrical release and subsequent DVD release, NEWSIES has grown into a cult phenomenon, and for years had been the single most requested title of all the Disney musical films not yet adapted for the stage. (The film featured a screenplay by Bob Tzudiker & Noni White (Tarzan, 102 Dalmatians).)

Exclusive Breaking News: Disney to Film NEWSIES Live in August; Jeremy Jordan & Kara Lindsay to Return  ImageExclusive Breaking News: Disney to Film NEWSIES Live in August; Jeremy Jordan & Kara Lindsay to Return  ImageJeremy Jordan landed his first Broadway role in "Rock of Ages." In December of 2009, he left the show to play Tony in Broadway's "West Side Story," after which he originated the role Clyde Barrow in "Bonnie & Clyde," a performance which earned him the Theatre World Award. In 2011, Jordan was cast as the lead in Disney's world premiere production of "Newsies" at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. He went on to star in the Broadway version of "Newsies," and received Tony and Grammy Award nominations for his role as Jack Kelly. Recently, Jordan starred in the film adaptation of "The Last Five Years," the cult musical from Jason Robert Brown, which was directed by Richard LaGravenese. He currently appears on SUPERGIRL, and his other television credits include SMASH, ELEMENTARY and "Law & Order: SVU."

Kara Lindsay was the original leading lady, 'Katherine', in NEWSIES on Broadway and was last seen on Broadway playing 'Glinda' in WICKED. Regionally she has been seen playing Mary in MARY POPPINS, Laura in LITTLE HOUSE IN THE PRAIRIE, Cinderella in CINDERELLA, Miss Anne Page in Lone Star Love, as well as Sally in CABARET. Ms Lindsay is represented by Industry Entertainment & Stewart Talent.




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