'Newsies' is even better on Broadway

When Disney’s stage version of the film Newsies made its debut last fall at the Paper Mill Playhouse, it was met with rave reviews and talk of a Broadway transfer. This was a surprise to everyone involved since the show was always meant to go directly into secondary licensing so that the schools of the nation could finally see their dreams come true and produce their own live stage production of the cult film.  They will have to wait, because although the show is advertised as a limited run through August, there may be no stopping Newsies on Broadway for a long time.  It also seems silly to think that there won’t be a profitable national tour, though Disney has made no formal announcements.  Somehow, though I can’t exactly identify the reasons, Newsies on Broadway is better than it was in New Jersey.  There are numerous little changes that have gone into subtly improving the production, though it largely seems unchanged.  There are new songs, though as I watched the production I could not identify them.  The choreography seems to build over the course of the production now, where it used to seem inorganic and simply a string of circus routines without direct connection to the story.  Whatever the tweaks may be, they work beautifully, making Broadway’s Newsies a tight package of family entertainment that delivers exactly what we all hope a good Broadway musical in New York ought to give us.  The show is delightful all the way around.

The Jump That Saved a Season

When the 2012 Tony Award nominations are announced Tuesday morning, one name is sure to be on the list: Christopher Gattelli, the choreographer of "Newsies." While other award categories will have the theater crowd debating like railbirds handicapping the Kentucky Derby, this one is practically a lock.

"Newsies" on Broadway

PHOTO FLASH: Nick Jonas, Ricky Martin, Audra McDonald at Easter Bonnet Competition

Full photoset available at theatremania

A Plea to the Tony Nominators

With the Tony nominators meeting this weekend, I’d like to make a final plea for a few performances that I fear might be overlooked come Tuesday morning’s announcement (which I’ll be posting with my comments as they happen). We all know Newsies and Once and Death of a Salesman and Follies are likely to wrack up big nods, but please, Mr. Tony, don’t forget about:

• Celia Keenan Bolger’s wickedly smart and period perfect evocation of a gifted young adventuress in Peter and the Starcatcher
• Christina Kirk’s deft balance of caricature to reveal character as a supporting actress in Clybourne Park.

• Kara Lindsay’s winningly engaging and show-centering supporting performance in Newsies.

• Judith Light’s deeply felt and revelatory turn in Other Desert Cities.

• Phillip Boykin’s menacing yet magnetic Crown in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.

• Patti Murin’s warm, show-carrying performance and Lindsay Nicole Chambers‘ sassy sidekick with a vulnerable side in Lysistrata Jones.

• Hugh Dancy’s strong, essential partnering work in the delicious Venus in Fur.

• Melissa Van Der Schyff’s sweet singing and tumbleweed sense of place in Bonnie and Clyde.

Source: thebroadwayblog

Tony Eligibility Rulings Made for Newsies, Evita, Death of a Salesman and More

The Tony Awards Administration Committee met for the fourth and final time this season on April 27 to determine eligibility for 18 Broadway productions.


The shows discussed included Death of a Salesman, Once, Jesus Christ Superstar, Newsies, The Best Man, End of the Rainbow, Evita, Magic/Bird, Peter and the Starcatcher, One Man, Two Guvnors, Clybourne Park, A Streetcar Named Desire, Ghost, The Lyons, Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Columnist, Don’t Dress for Dinner andLeap of Faith. The Tony nominations will be announced May 1. The following decisions were made at the meeting:


Linda Emond and Andrew Garfield will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Featured Actress/Actor in a Play categories for their respective performances in Death of a Salesman.


Alex North will not be eligible in the category of Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics Written for the Theatre) for the score Death of a Salesman. The revival's scenic design, which is a re-creation of Jo Mielziner's Tony-winning work, is also not eligible for a nomination.


Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Leading Actor/Actress in a Musical categories for their respective performances in Once.


Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová will not be eligible in the category of Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics Written for the Theatre) for the score of Once.


Paul Nolan will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical category for his performance in Jesus Christ Superstar.


Ben Fankhauser, Jeremy Jordan and Kara Lindsay will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Leading Actor/Actress in a Musical categories for their respective performances in Newsies.


Tobin Ost and Sven Ortel will be considered jointly eligible in the category of Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Newsies.


Candice Bergen, Kerry Butler, Angela Lansbury, Jefferson Mays andMichael McKean will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Featured Actress/Actor in a Play categories for their respective performances in The Best Man.


Ricky Martin and Michael Cerveris will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical category for their respective performances in Evita.


Kevin Daniels and Tug Coker will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play category for their respective performances in Magic/Bird.


David Korins and Jeff Sugg will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Play category for Magic/Bird.


Rick Elice will be considered eligible in the category of Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics Written for the Theatre) for Peter and the Starcatcher (Music: Wayne Barker; Lyrics: Rick Elice). Also eligible in the category are the scores of Newsies, One Man, Two Guvnors, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Best Man.


Wood Harris and Daphne Rubin-Vega will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Featured Actor/Actress in a Play categories for their respective performances in A Streetcar Named Desire. 


Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Leading Actor/Actress in a Musical categories for their respective performances in Ghost. 


Rob Howell and Jon Driscoll will be considered jointly eligible in the category of Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Ghost. 


John Lithgow will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play category for his performance in The Columnist.


Ben Daniels, Adam James, Patricia Kalember and Jennifer Tilly will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by a Featured Actor/Actress in a Play categories for their respective performances in Don’t Dress for Dinner.


One Man, Two Guvnors, which is inspired by the 1743 comedy A Servant of Two Masters, will be eligible for Best Play and not Best Revival of a Play. While the production of Don't Dress for Dinnermarks the show's Broadway debut, it will be eligible for Best Revival of a Play.


All other eligibility is consistent with the opening night credits.


Source: Broadway

Is Newsies on Broadway Taking You Back?

Flashback to April 1992: It was the year George H.W. Bush was in office and the start of MTV’s The Real World. But more importantly, it was the year Newsies came to the big screen.

I was twelve years old and in the early stages of my obsession with musicals and movies. It feels long enough ago to call them the moving pictures, and DVD’s weren’t even around yet. It was the days of a good old-fashioned VHS tape and a chaperoned trip to the movies with a big group of girls and guys.

Armed with buttery popcorn and Swedish fish, I can recall sinking into the velvet cushion as if it was yesterday and almost immediately singing along to Newsies. Christian Bale became like a God to my girlfriends and me. I had a replica of the poster in my room and the soundtrack in my head, and playing from my stereo on repeat for months.

So, you can imagine the yank on my heartstrings when I heard Newsies was coming to Broadway! I was lucky enough to catch it early, and it held up! The singing, the dancing, the music—it was all there. The only thing is, 20 years later, I had my eyes opened to what this movie meant. With the replacement of technology for distribution of news, I was even more warmed by the actual story. All I can say is, take a girlfriend who just needs some good old-fashioned fun, and you won’t be disappointed—Seize that day!

Source: Glamour

Season 2 Finale of Submissions Only

Harvey Fierstein on 'CBS This Morning' talking Newsies & More

(CBS News) Harvey Fierstein is known not only for being a distinctive actor on Broadway and his signature gravelly voice, but for his longtime openness about his sexuality.

The four-time Tony Award-winner joked on "CBS This Morning," "I never came out. ... I didn't know what it was to be 'in,' so I was never 'out.'"

But Fierstein said his experience is becoming more normalized - at least in his town in Connecticut. "When I first moved up there about 30 years ago and I went to register as a Democrat, I mean, they practically closed town hall to me," he said. "I now see gay couples going into that very same town hall and getting married.

He added, "It's a wonderful world. You can't go backwards. You're always moving forward. It's the wonderful part about life. And that's terrific."

Fierstein made his theater debut in 1971 as "an asthmatic lesbian maid" in Andy Warhol's only play, "Pork." Fierstein is one of only a few people to receive Tony Awards in four different categories: two in 1983, as Best Actor (Play) and Author of Best Play for "Torch Song Trilogy,"; a third in 1984, the Book (Musical) Tony for writing the libretto of "La Cage aux Folles;" and the fourth in 2003, as Best Actor (Musical) in the Divine role of Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray."

His latest project is the hit Broadway adaptation of the 1992 movie "Newsies" about a group of newspaper boys who went on strike in 1899.

When asked why he wanted to make the production, Fierstein said, "What I saw was an opportunity to tell the next generation that this is their world. You may feel powerless as a child, but the world will one day be yours. And you're responsible for it. So, seize the day and take charge of it."

Newsies TV Ad

An Evening With Alan Menken

LOST Theatre and NM Productions presents An Evening of Alan Menken for three evenings only in May 2012. Following the success of its sell-out performance on the Battersea Barge, ‘An Evening Of Alan Menken’ now transfers to the Lost Theatre. This musical revue follows the career of American Award-winning composer Alan Menken and features songs from many of his well loved hit musicals and film scores such as ‘Little Shop Of Horrors’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, meet Deloris Van Cartier and the “Sisters of our Mother of perpetual faith” from ‘Sister Act–The Musical’ and many many more. Featuring a cast of 8 professional singers, a 4 piece band and tickets at just £10, this is set to be a fun, toe tapping evening out for everyone to enjoy.


Neil’s theatre credits include The Mikado in Hot Mikado, Wickersham in Suessical, Joe Vegas
in Fame, Orin Scrivello in Little Shop of Horrors and Drake in Annie all for Amanda Noar.
Other appearances include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Rocky Horror
Show (concert version), Oliver! and Dracula Spectacular

In 2011, Neil has directed and produced “Honk!”, performed at the LOST theatre for 3 weeks in the
autumn, actually on tour through the UK this year.


The show runs 16th - 18th May 2012 and plays each night at 7.30pm. Ticket price is £10. Call the box office at 0844 847 1680 or visit www.losttheatre.co.uk. LOST theatre is situated on 208 Wandsworth Road, SW8 2JU. The Nearest tube station is Stockwell (Northern Line and Victoria Line).

Source: Broadway World
Image via stockwellnews

And the nominees will be...

The great Jule Styne, composer of “Gypsy” and “Funny Girl,” lived by an ironclad rule: The day after one of your shows opens to bad reviews, sit down at the piano and start writing the next one.

And whenever his colleagues were nursing their own critical wounds, he’d ring them up and shout: “Next!”

That’s pretty much how the theater industry feels about the current Broadway season.

Jeremy Jordan Is "Not Just A Pretty Face"

Newsies, Disney’s new stage adaptation of their 1992 live-action movie musical, is an utter delight. It may not be great art, but it’s certainly great entertainment. Since opening last fall at the Paper Mill Playhouse, Newsies has won over skeptics with its grit, enthusiasm and cast of talented young performers giving their all to audiences. Now that it’s opened to raves on Broadway, it’s quickly becoming a phenomenon. Directed with ingenious style by Jeff Calhoun and boasting athletic choreography by Christopher Gattelli, Newsies’ stage incarnation owes most of its success to two ingredients: a streamlined book by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, and a sensational performance by Broadway’s new heartthrob, Jeremy Jordan, as “newsie” ringleader Jack Kelly, who heads an insurrection against magnate Joseph Pulitzer when he raises the distribution price of newspapers.

Michigan's Very Own in "Newsies"

“Newsies,” one of the most energetic new shows on Broadway, is like the perfect storm. It starts with a big name — Disney — and adds in some more biggies such as music by Alan Menken and a fresh new book by Tony Award-winning actor/writer, Harvey Fierstein.

Based on the New York City newsboys strike of 1899, the story celebrates the nostalgia of newsprint just as 21st century newspapers are undergoing the biggest changes since the invention of the printing press. And the characters’ plucky fight against corporate greed echoes today’s political movement against “the 1 percent.”

Tony: What’s old is new?

The most powerful people on Broadway this weekend will be the 28 theater professionals who make up the Tony nominating committee.

Their nominations — anxiety over which will keep producers, publicists and agents up all weekend — will be announced Tuesday morning.

Women On Broadway

I must say, I had a wonderful weekend. I know, this is an odd way to begin a column, but bear with me. I went to New York and I saw five shows on Broadway and it was an invigorating, if exhausting experience. However, on Sunday night, I came to a depressing realization: in the shows I saw, there were a LOT more male roles than there were female roles. I'll admit, some of the shows, like "Peter and the Starcatcher" and "Newsies" were male-heavy, but unfortunately, that's not a rare thing; indeed, female-heavy shows are a rarity.

The Reviews Are In: Audience subscribes to 'Newsies' charms

NEW YORK —There is something uniquely appealing, entertainment history reveals, about urban urchins in cloth caps, be they Parisian waifs, London pickpockets or unflaggingly optimistic New York orphans. If they sing and dance and have lost a parent or two, all the better. And if they sell newspapers for a living? Then they become fresher-faced and more empathetic versions of the archetypal ink-stained wretch, battered as these boys are between the mean streets and the selfish scoops of their mercurial bosses, obsessed, then and now, with their declining circulation.

How else to explain the way the excited audience at “Newsies,” the latest and truly crowd-pleasing Broadway musical from Disney Theatrical Productions? They stopped the show with cheers on a whole slew of occasions, popping up from their seats, vicarious cloth caps firmly in place and ready to cheer like union organizers at some weird amalgam of Clifford Odets' “Waiting for Lefty” and “Annie.” If you thought unions (or at least the romantic idea of them) were dead among the young, you should spend some time at the Nederlander Theatre, where the newsies are doing more to push the merits of collective bargaining to the youthful than Rich Trumka of theAFL-CIO. And they're doing so while working for Disney. No mean feat, that.

The crowd, the mostly young crowd, is certainly not reacting to an especially artful or innovative movie-to-stage adaptation. The characters aren't all as shameless as Crutchie (Andrew Keenan-Bolger, emoting like Tiny Tim's older brother), but they're a familiar collection of types, including the brooding hero Jack (the solid if unwavering Jeremy Jordan), the nerdy but self-actualizing Davey (Ben Fankhauser, who has more dimension than most) and the pint-sized Les (Lewis Grosso at the show I saw), spitting out the precocious one-liners.


One scene in Harvey Fierstein's book actually begins with the line, “And stay out.” And, in the role of the female journalist (and somewhat uneasy love interest for Jack) named Katherine, the over-ripe and off-beat Kara Lindsay says something like, “You give me the exclusive, I'll run with the story and I'll get you the space,” a trifecta of journalistic cliches.

Jeff Calhoun's production moves around Tobin Ost's metallic set mostly with efficiency, and John Dossett's villainous Joseph Pulitzer is a zesty creation, but there are no real surprises of any sort; in the formative sense, there's nothing one has not seen before. The number “Seize the Day” comes with top-drawer musical excitement, but this is not Alan Menken's best score for the theater, nor do Jack Feldman's lyrics dance easily in your head.

But for many in the theater, none of that matters. Once the fine ensemble of dancing newsies takes the stage and executes Christopher Gattelli's tricks-filled choreography, the rest of the pages of this enterprise seem to fall away. Such is the formidable burst of energy, fueled by what feels like the kind of authentic defiance that you often get when a show out starts small — or as a flop movie — and keeps on keeping on, playing to an ever-growing array of die-hard supporters (that flop has its fans). This is a very shrewdly produced show; expectations have been kept low but bubbling, and the absence of some Julie Taymor-like conceptual director feels, frankly, refreshing, given the fraught recent history of these things. The great asset of “Newsies,” a show that should not be underestimated in its potential trajectory, is a demonstrable comfort in its own emotional skin and theatrical limitations. When you've got a target demographic wedded to their electronics in real life, an explicitly analog approach has real merits of contrast.

One wishes a bit more attention had been paid to the veracity of the central romance, a black hole in this show. Not that the ensemble of paperboys let themselves get sucked in. There is two-way magnetic passion in the room as these young guys dance on and around their newspapers (the real star of this show is an amazing dancer named Ryan Steele, who plays the role of Specs and who can stomp a series of pirouettes on Page One and then only get better from there). That may well be enough to keep this show in print for a good while.

“Newsies” plays on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre, 208 W. 41 St. For tickets, call 866-870-2717 or visit newsiesthemusical.com


Source: Chicago Tribune

Newsies King of New York by Samantha

Drama League names noms

The Drama League has announced its award nominations for the 2011-12 season and they are, as usual, legion, with 11 shows vying for the top play title and more than 50 thesps in the running for the org's sole acting kudo.

The league, a Gotham-based legit nonprofit focused on audience and artist development, considers both Broadway and Off Broadway productions for its annual round of awards. The free-for-all of the nominations list is balanced by a tight roster of just five actual awards (alongside the noncompetitive special honors).

The nominees for new play include eight Broadway offerings -- "Clybourne Park," "The Columnist," "The Lyons," "One Man, Two Guvnors," "Other Desert Cities," "Peter and the Starcatcher," "Seminar" and "Venus in Fur," which is close to every single title that could end up in one of the four Tony slots for the same category. Off Broadway's "Tribes," "Septimus and Clarissa" and "The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures" also made the list; notable plays not to make the cut among Rialto candidates include "The Mountaintop," "Stick Fly" and "Chinglish."

The play revival category pits Broadway's two top-selling current revivals, "Death of a Salesman" and "Gore Vidal's The Best Man," against the Rialto staging of "Wit" and an Off Broadway roster that includes "And God Created Whales," "How I Learned to Drive," "Look Back in Anger" and "The Maids."

The new musical category encompasses Rialto tuners "Newsies," "Once," "Nice Work If You Can Get It," "Leap of Faith" and "Ghost" as well as "Queen of the Mist" and "Mission Drift," drawn from the Off Broadway pool. Revival sees four Main Stem contenders -- "Follies," "Evita," "Porgy and Bess" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" -- battle it out with Off Broadway's "Carrie."

The list of nominated actors stretches from Matthew Broderick ("Nice Work") to Kim Cattrall ("Private Lives"), James Corden ("One Man"), Andrew Garfield ("Salesman") and Kevin Spacey ("Richard III").

Noms were announced at Sardi's Tuesday by Megan Hilty ("Smash"), Justin Long ("Seminar") and Raven-Symone ("Sister Act"). Trophies will be handed out during a May 18 luncheon, along with the previously announced special honors for Alan Menken, Rosie O'Donnell and Diane Paulus.

Source: Variety

Easter Bonnet Competition Pulls in $3.6 Million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

Broadway raised $3,677,855 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS at the 26th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition. Culminating in six weeks worth of fundraising efforts, the tally was announced April 24 at the Minskoff Theatre.
Ricky Martin (Evita), Audra McDonald (Porgy and Bess) and Eric McCormack (The Best Man) announced the competition winners of the two-day event. The company of The Lion King took top honors for bonnet presentation, with the Mary Poppins team earning the runner-up spot. The special award for bonnet design was rewarded toMamma Mia! The top fundraising award went to The Book of Mormon, which raised $286,725.

This year’s hosts included Stockard Channing, Judith Light and Stacy Keach (Other Desert Cities), Gavin Creel (Hair), Jeremy Jordan (Newsies), Rory O'Malley (The Book of Mormon), Raven-Symoné (Sister Act) Nick Jonas, Michael Urie and Rob Bartlett (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), Corbin Bleu, Lindsay Mendez and George Salazar (Godspell) and Selloane Nkhela and Ron Kunene (The Lion King).


Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, BC/EFA raises funds for AIDS-related causes and other critical illnesses across the United States. The 25 previous editions of the Easter Bonnet Competition have raised more than $46 million.
 
Source: broadway

Outer Critics get 'Nice Work': Broadway musical leads nominations

Broadway musical "Nice Work If You Can Get It" tops the list of Outer Critics Circle nominations, scoring nine noms in the first round of legit kudos to announce contenders this season. Two more Rialto offerings, "Newsies" and "Once," nabbed seven nods apiece.


Both "Newsies" and "Once" are in the race for the OCC's top Broadway musical trophy, as are "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark." In an unusual twist, "Nice Work," a tuner that incorporates Gershwin songs into a new book, did not get nominated for that laurel despite being eligible. Its haul of nods includes book (by Joe DiPietro), director (Kathleen Marshall), choreographer (Marshall), and thesping noms for topliner Kelli O'Hara as well as Judy Kaye and Michael McGrath in features roles.