Two years ago, on September 15, 2011, Newsies, the hit Tony® Award-winning “critics’ pick,” played its first performance at Paper Mill Playhouse. Ever since that very first night, Newsies fans, self-proclaimed “fansies,” have been a cause for celebration, helping to propel the show from a limited regional theatre run to a limited Broadway engagement and then to extend into a record-breaking open-ended run. In honor of those dedicated fans, the show will celebrate “Newsies Fan Week” September 15 – 21.
An entire front-page-worthy week of new videos, experiences and re-imagined favorites has been planned. For more information and a complete list of “Fan Week” happenings, visit newsiesthemusical.com/fanweek.
Since bursting onto Broadway last spring, Newsies has set and broken seven Nederlander Theatre house records on its way to becoming the highest-grossing show of its 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. One of Broadway’s highest profile hits, it has been featured nationally on “Dancing with the Stars,” “The View,” “Good Morning America,” “Nightline,” “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” and “The CBS Thanksgiving Day Parade.”
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.
Included in the best-of lists for Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, and The Daily News,Newsies can be counted one of the most critically-praised shows of recent seasons.Entertainment Weekly raves, “stop the presses! Newsies is an irresistible, high energy winner… a surprise sensation!” Time Out New York calls Newsies, “an invigorating extravaganza! A barnstorming, four-alarm delight,” and The New York Times hails it, “a musical worth singing about,” praising the “terrific songs – buoyant melodies and rousing lyrics – and a sweet, funny, emotionally satisfying book.”
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 andLuca Padovan 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 Nederlander Theatre box office hours are Monday through Saturday 10am – 8pmand Sunday 11:30am – 6pm. Newsies is performed on the following schedule: Monday – Wednesday at 7:30pm; Friday – Saturday at 8pm; Wednesday & Saturday at 2pm; andSunday at 3pm. Visit NewsiesTheMusical.com for details.