"Newsies" Set for the Stage

by Angela Shambeda | More from this Blogger

01 Nov 2010 06:03 AM

One of my recurring columns highlighted "Newsies" as a woefully underappreciated Disney film. Some critics thought the songs were flat but I vehemently disagree; Alan Menken composed the score and I knew some people who hated the film but conceded the quality of the soundtrack.

Now "Newsies" might finally get a real shot at the popularity it deserves. Sure, it enjoys a strange sort of cult status amongst girls who discovered it when they were 14 or so (like me), but I think a stage version of the musical gives it a chance at some critical acclaim. According to Moviefone's website, that's just what's happening. The stage version part, anyway.

Alan Menken has teamed up with Tony-winning Broadway actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein to bring "Newsies" to the Great White Way. They've added additional songs to the score and apparently as of May have 29 hours' worth of read-through material that they're now whittling down for the script.

At first I assumed I'd be nothing but joyful at this new chance "Newsies" has at real popularity. After reading some of the details about the adaptation I'm a little worried. One of the main problems with the original film was that it tried to cram too many complexities in what ought to have just been a fun musical story for kids. Learning about a 29-hour read through doesn't bolster my confidence that those behind the story's stage revival have ironed out the script's problems.

But I also don't know anything about the process through which plays, particularly ones adapted from other media, go through before they reach their final stages. Maybe an early 29-hour read through is normal, and it just indicates that Menken & co. have plenty of fresh ideas they're bouncing around for the story.

My other concern is over for whom the stage version of "Newsies" is intended. While the original film was meant for children, its plot about workers, however young, striking against an oppressive authority was too complex for younger audiences. The movie itself was really suited to teenagers, especially girls, because almost the entire cast was made up of singing and dancing teenage boys (including a teenaged Christian Bale).

I can't imagine a Broadway play succeeding with an intended audience as narrow as just children or especially just teenage girls. It could work as a family-friendly show, like other Disney-to-Broadway conversions before it.

Some of the problems with the plot of the movie might actually serve it well on Broadway; the original script writers tried to cram too many plot threads into what was supposed to be a hit musical intended for children. Now, the details about Jack's longing for an idealized "Go West and Go Forth with The Country" dream he knows are false, David's tenement life struggles, and Joseph Pulitzer's blackmail of Jack over threats against David, might help the story appeal to the parents bringing their kids to the show.

I still think the script will need a lot of work, and some serious thought should go into to whom the play is marketed. At least "Newsies" now gets a second chance to become the hit musical I always wished for it.

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Learn more about Angela Shambeda

Angela Shambeda lives in southern Maryland with her engineering husband plus two rescue pets. One's a dog named Chihiro and the other's a cat named Cole.

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