BWW Review: Disney's NEWSIES Charming Family Fare
by Frank Benge
- Sep 28, 2016
NEWSIES is a Disney Theatrical Productions musical based on their 1992 film Newsies. The original film took its inspiration from the Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City. NEWSIES has a book by Harvey Fierstein with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman. It premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in 2011 and made its Broadway debut in 2012, where it played for 1004 performances. The stage version contains songs from the movie and several new numbers. Those who grew up on the film version will notice that this new adaptation has written out Jack's original love interest Sarah Jacobs as well as the New York Sun reporter Brian Denton, who writes about the Newsies. These characters have been replaced by a new character, Katherine Plumber, a reporter who is a composite of the characters from the original film. The North American tour, which is currently playing at the Bass Concert Hall, started in October 2014 and is ending its 43 week run on October 2, 2016 here in Austin, TX.
