I'm gonna be honest, Newsies was my first obsession. Oh, I loved Star Trek, and things, but I was twelve when I saw it, and... twelve year old hormones mixed with lots of boys dancing and singing. Whew. Can you talk first crush?
NO I WAS ELEVEN, because we saw it in March, and I didn't turn twelve until July.
Jack Kelly was my main man for probably... jeez. I don't think I got over him until I started Supernatural. That means the Newsies obsession lasted a good... five or six years.
I will say by the end of the five or six years, I didn't blush and giggle every time someone mentioned Jack, but every time I watched the movie it would be like, 'so not over it.'
He was an exceptionally attractive little man, what can I say?! (But seriously, I was a huge fangirl before I even knew what a fangirl was. I can still sing like every single part, I still know when to throw a punch when I'm singing, and oh yeah, I can still do the Santa Fe dance.)
Newsies also came at the point in my life, where I loved all things fist-fighty and beaty-uppy. Karate Kid? Yes. Forbidden Kingdom? Yaassss. Fight scenes were awesome, and Newsies has a lot of those.
Soooo, back in 2012, when I found out they were putting on a Broadway production of said Newsies, I was so excited. The promo looked amazing, and I was like "awwww yeah, obsession refueled."
....... or maybe not.
I listened to the Broadway version of it, and I hated it. My excited fangirl heart was crushed, because five reasons.
A.) Wow. Jeremy Jordan was so not.... Christian Bale.
B.) Wow, who is that really annoying reporter girl?
C.) Wow, they took out a lot of the best scenes.
D.) Wow, they added so much swearing.
E.) Wow, I did not connect to the characters at all.
Those were the five main points of sadness for me. I was horrified, I was revolted, I hated this musical so much, how dare they attempt to redo Newsies, what were they THINKING?
So, being the fifteen-year-old that I was, I refused to acknowledge its existence. I couldn't listen to it, I couldn't think about it. It was a disgrace to the Newsies legacy!
Flash forward to now.
I'm a big mature girl, I still love mah Jack Kelly, but in a less hormonal way, and I'm like, "You know... maybe I should give the Broadway musical another go, pretty sure the only reason I hated it was because I didn't like Jeremy Jordan as my baby.
So I listened to it.
I still like the movie better.
But I've come to the conclusion that the musical is not quite as bad as I remembered.
It was still bad, but I found a place where you can watch the full Broadway performance, and it's a lot less bad when the singing is connected to acting.
Let me explain.
1.) I have nothing against Jeremy Jordan, I think he's a good actor, he's good looking, he has a nice voice. But I do not like his portrayal of Jack Kelly, and here's why.
In the movie, Jack was kind of understated, and I get that people read characters differently, but Jeremy Jordan completely changed him from the original Jack. They don't even feel like the same character. And since Jack Kelly is one of my all time favorite characters, I get a bit cranky when people change him.
I did not like how whenever there was a free moment, Jack was caterwauling about Santa Fe. (I'm aware that this is not Jeremy Jordan's fault, but it bugged me nonetheless.) In the movie there was one reprise of Santa Fe, in the musical, it's basically, "Jack's alone, better hammer that Santa Fe angle in again..."
I know technically Jeremy Jordan's voice is better than Christian Bale's, but I personally like Christian's version of Santa Fe way better than Jeremy's. Someone needs to let him know that you can show emotion without cracking on every. Single. Note. I'm all for a good, well-placed crack for added effect, but one or two is fine, not twenty or thirty. Where Christian's version of Santa Fe is kind of raw and vulnerable, Jeremy's is mostly just loud and cracky.*
*I will say it's a lot less noticeable when you watch him sing, than when you just listen, but still. He cracks a lot.
On the other hand, I really, really liked that in the musical, unlike the movie, they made Jack an artist. He draws and paints and that makes the artist in me squeal because ART.
2.) Okay, what's the deal with changing the reporter into a girl? Maybe they felt like there was too much testosterone and they needed to balance it out with a lady. (Heaven forbid girls don't get a shot on the show, feminists have to have a role somewhere, right?) But what was wrong with having Davey's sister be the love interest? I would have been fine with it if they had decided to make Sarah a bigger character. But they got rid of Denton, who was a really good father figure to the Newsies, and inserted Katherine Plummer who is extremely obnoxious.
I have nothing against girls! I am a girl! I think girls are amazing! Ra, ra, girls are awesome!
Unfortunately, I think the idea of a female reporter in 1899 falling in love with a seventeen year old newsie to be unlikely. I'm sure there were lady reporters and things, seeing as it was the turn of the century and the Suffragette movement was going strong at the time, but the odds of her being young enough to fall in love with a teenager? NOT GOOD.
In the movie, Denton is already an established reporter, who takes the newsboys under his wing, and helps them out. He pays for their food, he respects them for what they're doing, he's basically really cool.
In the musical, Katherine is a barely making it reporter who views the newsboys as her chance to get in good with the editor of her paper, so she'll get a raise and a promotion. She is not cool.
Also *spoiler alert, skip the next paragraph if you don't want the spoil* Apparently Katherine was Pulitzer's daughter. But according to his biography, Katherine died at age two from pneumonia. Newsies is based on a true story, let's try to keep history at least somewhat correct, yeah?
Because of the addition of Katherine, the musical turns more to women deserve to be treated like men, rather than the newsies want to be treated like humans.
The whole "Equal Rights" thing is totally in your face in the musical, much more so than the movie. I'm all for equal rights, but I'll be much less for it if you shove it in my face.
3.) They took out a lot of stuff from the movie so they could make room for Jack and Katherine's relationship. Which wouldn't have bothered me all that much if A.) I liked Katherine or B.) They didn't take out so many important things.
a.) They took out a lot of the friendship development of Jack and Davey, and replaced it with a Jack and Crutchie bromance,* which means David shows up to be a newsie, and it jumps right from there to the whole Jack and Dave are a team, even though there's no bonding.
*Bromance-- Noun. The non-creepy, best-friend relationship between guys. For example Shawn and Gus from Psych have a bromance. Sam and Dean have a bromance. Arthur and Merlin have a bromance.
Don't get me wrong, I love Crutchie in the movie, he's a cripple, and he's sweet. But he's also tough, and in the musical he kind of sounds like he's ready to cry at any given moment.
b.) They took out the Refuge bit where Jack and Dave go to rescue Crutchie and replaced it with Jack hiding away and painting backdrops for Medda.
c.) Spot Conlon doesn't even show up until near the end of the show. WHAT?!! Spot was awesome, why leave him out?
d.) They took out Jack getting arrested. They took out everybody getting arrested! The only kid who gets arrested is Crutchie. Oh wait, Jack gets locked in Pulitzer's cellar... which makes all the sense in the world.
e.) Jack never becomes a scab. The only thing he does is try to break up the newsie rally. (Irritating.) This took away the climax, where the newsies think he's turned against them. It also means that the part where Jack rescues Davey from the Delanceys got taken out. That fight scene was the best! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE.
f.) Because they took out Denton, the whole Bring-Teddy-Roosevelt-in aspect was made unrealistic. In the movie, Denton had been a Rough Rider with Teddy, so they were friends. Therefore when Denton brings Teddy's attention to the way the newsies were treated, you can see how that would work.
In the musical, they made it seem like Theodore Roosevelt was playing around with Medda, and Medda's the one who brings Katherine to see him. Now, they never say it outright, but it's heavily implied. Teddy was a good family man, he wouldn't have been messing around with someone who wasn't his wife.
4.) I know being irritated by lyric changes is being petty, so I'll apologize for that. I don't mind that lyrics got changed, most of the changes are pretty minimal, and that's okay. But when you change it from
Santa Fe, are you there?
Do you swear you won't forget me?
to
Santa fe, you can bet,
we won't let them bastards beat us
That bugs the life out of me, because it was just as powerful of a song without adding a bunch of unnecessary language. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it needs to be there. They added a lot of swearing, which bothered me, because it was just there to emphasize stuff. At one point, Jack say, "And the strike starts right damn now." No one talks like that. What's the point of it?
A lot of the new songs they added for the musical were good, (I mean, come on Alan Menken wrote them, so obviously, they're good.) but they didn't really fit the time period. Katherine's song, "Watch What Happens" had so many phrases that were so not accurate to the time.
"This is big, lady, don't screw it up."
That doesn't fit at all. It's not accurate, and it's annoying.
ON THE OTHER HAND, I really liked some of the changes. At one point, during Seize the Day, Jack and Davey sing,
Behold the brave battalion that stands side by side
Too few in number and too proud to hide
Which is a cool line, I liked it. I liked it a lot.
5.) Finally, my last main problem with the musical is that I did not connect to a single character. I mean it focuses on Jack and his problems, but even though Jeremy was a great actor (he really was: very charismatic, and he knew how to own a stage) I didn't really feel an emotional connection to Jack or any of the Newsies. In the movie, you kind of get to know all the newsies a little, and it's sad when things don't go their way.
In the musical you can't really tell one newsie apart from the others, and I missed that.
It's probably just me, but I like the way the newsies sang better in the movie. The songs had more emotion, even though the boys that sang them were untrained and really young.
In the musical, despite the fact that all the newsies were at least twenty, the songs didn't make me feel like I was part of the strike instead of just listening to it. And I don't know, I think a bunch of vocally trained adults should be able to put as much emotion into their singing as the kids from the nineties did.
Yeah. So to sum up,
I think the musical had the potential to be great, and it sort of didn't quite make it there. I wanted to like it so much, I think maybe my expectations were too high.
The dance numbers in the musical were awesome! I mean, holy cow, that's a bunch of agile guys. I loved the dancing in the musical a lot.
And wow, the sets were incredible.
I think they tried too hard to make Newsies a big old "everyone gets rights!" instead of the basic, "Newsies are employees too."
I think the movie plot worked better, and flowed better than it did in the musical.
And I maintain that it was a big mistake changing Denton into a girl.
That being said, I won't say I didn't enjoy watching the musical. It's really fun, and it's really clean, unlike Les Mis or Jekyll and Hyde. Despite the fact that I personally think the movie is better, I think the musical is pretty good, and, give me a little more time, I'd probably watch it again with my sisters. (If I can talk them into it.)
It's a really good musical!
I just think the movie was so special to me that I flipped when the musical didn't add up to my expectations.
Alright, I have come, I have vented very one-sidedly, I shall go.
Have you seen the movie?
Have you seen the musical?
Have you seen both?
Which do you prefer? (I promise not to be a jerk if you like the musical better. ;)
Do you think I'm being silly?
That's all!
Treskie out.
Newsies is amazing! I'm afraid, because my family doesn't have movie streaming or a place like Redbox/Blockbusters nearby, I haven't seen the movie, but I have seen the musical. In fact, my dance class was going to do a performance of Seize the Day, but sadly it got cancelled. I love the soundtrack though. I have to agree about the voice cracking part; if your voice cracks thirty times.
ReplyDeleteAnd... up until this post, I had no idea Christian Bale can sing. >.< I feel really dumb... :P
xoxo Morning
Newsies isssssss. Aw, man! That sucks! you should borrow it from Candence, it's so gooooooood! Ehem. The soundtrack is only the half of it, it's so good lol.
DeleteI hate a lot of cracking, so annoying.
HIS VOICE IS NIIIICEEEE. And I don't think he's sung since Newsies.
OKAY
ReplyDeleteSORRY
*CALMS DOWN*
So after just about every sentence I wanted to rush down to the comment section and remark on it. Therefore I've pulled up a new window in order to do it side-by-side.
To begin, I got all tensed up before I began to read because I love this musical so freakin' much. And even for that I like the broadway musical.
I loved Jack as well. But as I got over my love for Davy skyrocketed and he became my favorite. I loved "The mouth" (or whatever it was Spot calls him). On a side note, what is it about 12-13 range where everyone likes fighting movies?? That's when I saw Karate kid, Iron Will, and the original spiderman films. I wanted to take karate lessons (note: nearly fainting on the first day isn't a good start...not overly proud of that moment). But Jack! He was swell. Espeically since I've always loved Christian Bale. I mean, Little Women (until they made him a creep in it), Swing Kids, you get the idea. Oh and please tell me I'm not the only one so done with the "look! It's batman sining and dancing!" jokes....okay cool. Moving on.
Initially I hated the broadway show too. I think I had too high of expectations. Because NEWSIES. All that I say from here on is strictly on the soundtrack for the broadway version as I've not seen even the bootleg of it. Kay, cool.
I agree on Jack being different. Then again Christian Bale is Christian Bale and has this certain...something...he puts into all of his characters. But yeah. Oh and I'm not a huge fan of Jeremy's Jack. And I like Jeremy. I've seen him do other musicals and I love his acting. But, he's too...I don't know...for Jack. Angsty maybe? Like he did Bonnie and Clyde and NAILED it. And Clyde is...well...Clyde. He managed to make him lovable but still make you wanna shove him in jail, which is impressive. So yeah he's good just not for our Jack Sullivan. (Kelly is so much cooler but ya know).
I personally love Corey Cott's version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sgmVvUuV-I It's way better. It feels more...less professional. I don't know. That sounds bad I know. It makes him sound more like a 17 year old kid who's just done with everything.
Katherine.
The only thing I can say about this is I always hated Sarah....a lot. Maybe she would have been better if she wasn't so....annoying. But then again who wouldn't be fawning over jack? I might appreciate her more if I saw it again. Katherin's an idiot though.
I hate that they tried to squeeze feminism into the mix. Plus she's Pulitzer's daughter. NO. Ugh. So much about that I hate. Plus her voice annoys me a little. With that said. I do love her song Watch What Happens. But like...completely as it's own song, not in relation to the musical. I like it.
I feel afraid that you needed two windows open to comment. O_o.
DeleteI loved the movie so much though, and I wanted the musical to be like the movie, which was a bad wish, on my part, because it wasn't and that made me really mad lol.
Yeah, I liked Davey, but Jack was just... JACK WAS JACK, AND HE WAS CUTE AND SASSY AND BRAVE, and yeah. He was a dahl. EHEM. OKAY So it wasn't just me that went through the "FIGHT SCENES" faze? Because I totally wrote entire books that were basically just an excuse to have fight scenes all the time. lol. Aw man, it's been so long since I've seen Iron Will. *gets up* I AM BEYOND BEING AFRAID OF YOU.... yeah.
My favorite Little Women is the version with June Alison, but Christian Bale's Laurie was a sad potato. (OMG HAVE YOU SEEN THE BATMAN ONE WHERE HE'S RAIDING A PLACE, AND IT JUST SAYS, 'I'M HERE TO SEE MR. PULITZER"? BECAUSE THAT ONE MADE ME GIGGLE.
Well I'm glad you hated it initially too lol. I don't actually hate it anymore, I'm just frustrated with it. (But I gave you the link for the bootleg, so you should totally watch it.)
Yeah, Christian Bale definitely has a way with acting that makes it hard to imitate... If that's the right word. lol. Mm, I've heard of Bonnie and Clyde, but it looked dirty, so I didn't watch it, is it good? But anyway, yeah. Jeremy's a good actor, I just don't really like him as jack at all. He's not Jack Sullivan, he' s Francis Sullivan, and that amuses me because Jack Kelly is so much cooler of a name. ANYWAY
Corey Cott is better. People forget that Jack is only 17.
Ughn, Katherine.
NO BUT SEE I DIDN'T LIKE SARAH EITHER! (The way she says "Leeesss" and "Dayvid" when she's reading Denton's paper? Annoying. BUT I LIKE HER MORE THAN KATHERINE.
I'm just really tired of feminism on the whole, and I don't like it being put in places that it wasn't originally. I DON"T like her as Pulitzer's daughter, I hated that so much! (I didn't want to say that her voice annoyed me because I thought it was just me being petulant, but THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING IT, because her voice really, really annoys me a lot. lol.)
Haha! Sorry to scare you. I just love it so much.
DeleteDid you really just do that joke...? "he was a dahl"? Did you....okay. (Do you know how many times I"ve been called a "dahl"? It's....yeah.
I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME! Wow. Yeah it must be that age-range I'm thinking now. Wiiiiill. I loved him and his stupid dogs. :D I don't think I've seen that version. I grew up with the other. Sad potato....let's be honest here. "I always knew I was going to marry one of the March girls".....ya creep. He was sooooo amazing in the book, too. Whyyyy. No I haven't!!! I want to find it now though.
Awesome! I have been wanting to watch it. He does indeed. I don't think I've ever seen a movie with him where he didn't have that...attitude. Even his first movie when he was 12 (Empire of the Sun). lol he's such a brat in that one. Uuuuhhhh. It's not the cleanest really. There's one scene that's like -- really? you went there? But it's brief. Other than that it's not bad. I love it because I've always liked stories about people like them and what their motivation was and everything. Plus the music is catchy and sounds like it really came from 1930's Texas. It's the same guy who did Jekyll and Hyde actually. So I don't really know what I think of the musical that much--I like the music and their voices.
He is. Jeremy is too old. He *looks* too old. I mean he looks like he's in his late twenties.
I see. Yeah of the two I'd have to agree...Sarah's better. At least she's just your average girl who wants to marry a guy and settle down and loves her brothers and family. Not...."NO DAD! I WANNA BE A REPORTER AND MARRY THIS NEWSIE WHO YOU HATE!" which is sounds like she is from what I've heard of the Broadway one....
Yes. I am sooooo sick of feminism. That's also messed up. She's his dead daughter. Kinda weird the more you think about it.
Hahaha, okay.
DeleteNooo well okay. I did sort of mean the joke, but I was also quoting. I can't even remember what I'm quoting, but the lady says, "HE'S A DAAHHHL" and it sounds like that, so yeah.
Hahaha, no not just you. I think it depends on the person though, because I don't think Bella went through it, and Amy hasn't finished, and yeah... I had it bad. XD
Did you know the guy who plays Will is Sean Astin's little brother????
Here's the pin https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/38/47/f7/3847f793aada16a3566a0eac870a7297.jpg
*snortle* I've been tempted to watch Empire of the Sun, because he's tiny and adorable in it, and it's WWII, isn't it? But yeah, I haven't gotten around to it. Is it good enough to watch, or should I give it a pass? WAIT WAIT WHAT? THE SAME GUY WHO DID JEKYLL DID THE MUSIC FOR THAT??? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?
Yeah, Newsies were kids, and all the newsies in the show were too old. But Jack definitely looked too old.
Sarah was less obnoxious too. She just bugged me hahaha. But yeah, SHE DID BASICALLY DO THAT IN THE MUSICAL! And she wasn't even working for her dad's paper, she was working for the Sun, so what's with that??
Feminism drives me nuts lol. Right? thank you!
ReplyDeleteoh yes and DENTON.
He was my favorite. I loved him to pieces. He was cool and kind and lost his job because of what he did. Plus he bought them dinner. AND IT MAKES NO SENSE THAT KATHERINE CALLS HERSELF THE 'KING OF NEW YORK'. QUEEN, FINE. But not King. Sheesh, lady, get it right.
I haven't seen the broadway one, but I got the feeling with all the Crutchy songs that Davey and Jack weren't as much as best bros which really...it really cuts me deep. I love those two. I love how you defined bromance. that make me chuckle. Crutchy's cool...but still. (and the Broadway guy looks like Martin Freeman).
I love the addition of the "watch what happens reprise" even if there's a bit of...not so great words in it. It totally is Davey.
THEY TOOK THE REFUGE SCENE OUT???? NOOOO!!! I LOVE JACK HANGING LIKE AN IDIOT ON THE SIDE OF THE WALL AND DAVID BEING A PUNK. I is sad now.
SPOOOOOOOT.
Nuff said.
JACK DOESN'T BECOME A SCAB?? WHAT! NO!! Laaaaam. That's what makes the end so much more powerful. Sheesh.
Lyric changes....yes. yeah that line irked me too.
Okay so this is where I have mixed feelings. I LOOOOOVE the line in The World Will Know,
"And this ain't for fun and it ain't for show". It's a cool line.
Once and For all. That has always been my favorite song tied with Santa Fe. What I've always loooooooved about the movie is how cool they are. Part of it is Denton, but still. They're all calm. They know what they're doing. They're mad, but they have it controlled. And it starts quiet and gets louder and stronger as more people join in. It's amazing.
Then in the broadway one you have a bunch of TICKED OFF teenagers. You can just feel the anger fuming. And it's terrible because it gives it a completely different feel. I prefer the movie because of that. Still I like how it's longer in the broadway one. See my pain? Still I love the line,
"They think they're running this town but this town would shut down without us."
As for the language? They updated it. Today that would be normal if not more language. Then, at the turn of the century not so much. At all. So that annoys me more than the actual language.
RACETRACK.
I'm sure this comment has gotten out of control. Let me just end by saying I actually agreed with a lot of what you said. But I still like the Broadway one as far as the music. But I like the instruments in the movie better. Why can they never do that kind of music background on stage? Is there a specific reason it's different sounding? is the movie just more polished? WHY DOES IT ALWAYS SOUND DIFFERENT??
Okay bye.
I will say for Katherine, the girl can dance. But she's just not Denton, the whole reporter angle is kind of wasted on her because she IS NOT DENTON.
DeleteYeah, I don't like that the Crutchie/Jack thing cut in on the Dave/Jack thing because I liked the D/J friendship. And yes, the Broadway Crtuchie does look like Martin Freeman (and he actually place John Watson in a Sherlock musical spoof) but he was really annoying as Crutchie.
YEAH THEY TOOK OUT THE REFUGE SCENE BECAUSE THEY'RE DORKS.
Spot, exactly. He's barely in there. *cries all the tears*
That's exactly what I thought! The Scab bit made the climax so climaxy! But it doesn't happen and I WAS MAD.
No, I don't mind a lot of the lyric changes. I don't see the point of them, but they didn't bother me, and the "This ain't for fun, and this ain't for show" good line, but it's the really weird ones that make me go..... What?
Thank you for putting into words what I was trying to figure out! I couldn't figure out what it was about the movie World Will know that was better than the musical, but you said it, so thanks. lol.
That's what bothered me too. I don't actually mind language if it's accurate for the time frame, but turn of the century they wouldn't have so INACCURACY BUGS.
RACCCCCCCCCCE.
Wheee! I'm glad you agreed with a lot. I was a little afraid you were going to be mad because I knew you liked the musical. lol. I don't know why the instruments never sound the same in the broadway shows as they do in movies, it's like, "y'all got oboes? Y'all got horns? Come on make it sound the same!"
Okay bai. Thanks for commenting lol.
That is true. She can dance which is pretty awesome. *whispers* But Denton.
DeleteHaha! I was going to tell you in my comment that he plays Bilbo in a Fandoms musical spoof on youtube. I'm not surprised he played both. lol! Yeah Davey and Jack are cooler.
THAT'S SO STUPID IT WAS ALWAYS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SCENES.
OHOHOHOH!!! BEFORE I FORGET! My favorite part in the entire movie is the *gorgeous* solo by that mother. During Carrying the Banner. I was so mad they replaced it with Jack singing something. I loved it the way it was. I mean I get why they couldn't for the broadway show but whatever. "Patrick, darling, since you left me IIII am undoooone. Mother loves youuuuu! God saaaave my soooooonnnn!" *que tears* I mean it was just one more little thing added which really showed what NYC was like then. And I loved it.
But he does get a song at least. He didn't in the movie. Even at that....he was epic.
SCAB. I liked that whole bit. So....I'm guessing there's no scene with the Delancy's attacking Sarah and Les?? Cause that again makes his whole knocking some sense into Jack make sense. *sigh*
I don't mind many lyric changes. It's just a couple which happen to be my favorite lines which they scrapped. Inaccuracieeeees.
Yay!!! I worded it weell. *dances* That's my biggest annoyance with the Broadway one. They're too much like the students in Les Mis (.......ugh) and need to take a chill brick. (as in getting knocked out for a time). It's always more terrifying if a group of boys are mad but have it controlled.
I ALWAYS LOVED RACETRACK.
What's with that? They should sound the same. I thought I was going to disagree a lot more because I knew for a space you really hated the Broadway one. But it seems we have more in common on this subject than we realized. Cool.
Bai!!
But Denton.....
DeleteI WATCHED THAT SCENE LIKE A BAZILLION TIMES. "Remember Crutchie?" *headbutt* LIKE YESSS.
I love singing with the Mother's bit so much. Me, Bella and Tiny can do that whole part. (Actually that whole song, but whatever) "Patriiiick" "Just give me have a cup." "Daaaaaaaaaaarliiiiiiiiiiiiing" "Somethin to wake me up" "Siiiiince yoooou left me, I am undooone" "I gadda find an angle"... yep.
DANG IT, I meant to mention that I liked Brooklyn's song!!!!!
Yeah, that whole Delancey scene is gone. Phbbth.
Inaccuracy in historical stuff is one of my all time pet peeves.
*Dances too.* BUT A LOT OF THE TIME, THE STUDENTS IN LES MIS ARE TOO OLD TOO, SOOOO.(No one gets knocked out.) Yeah, in the movie, they were pretty calmly mad, and only lost it a couple of times. XD
ME TOO!!
Oh, I did hate it. I hated it for a looong time. lol. I'm glad we agree on a lot. It's not *bad* it's just not the movie, ya feel me? Lol. Bai
OH YEAH PLUS THE BROADWAY DOESN'T HAVE THE INCREDIBLY AMAZING LINE "This aint' just Newsies no more...this is do or die, this is WAR!". *wipes away tear*
ReplyDeleteMy darling newsies.
THAT'S LIKE MY FAVORITE LINE IN THE WHOLE MUSICAL AND I'M REALLY UPSET THAT IT DIDN'T MAKE IT TO BROADWAY BECAUSE THE "this is WAR" gives me shivers lol.
DeleteNo, mine.
MINE. *insert gif of birds from finding nemo*
DeleteAdmittedly, I listened to the Broadway soundtrack before I watched the movie, and I loved the music for the Broadway show like, a lot. Thus when I watched the movie, I was a little let down, because yeah, so many things were different and I felt like I'd been listening to an entirely different show.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie, I don't know, it just seemed like the Newsies were a ragtag group of kids, which is something that I didn't really get from the musical. Jeremy Jordan's Jack seemed a lot more capable and in control than Christian Bale's, which can technically be either a good or a bad thing, but to me seemed kind of odd. Jack's character, depending on how it's played, can change the entire show. Movie Jack seemed more like an actual seventeen-year-old kid than Musical Jack.
I actually really like Katherine. Yes, multiple times during Watch What Happens I rolled my eyes at the historically-incorrect lyrics, but I feel that Katherine is a great character when viewed from a simply theatrical perspective, ignoring the fact that they massacred the movie's plot in writing her story. However, when viewed as a Disney character in a long line of Disney movies and musicals, many of which feature capable, feminist leads, she just seems like another cookie-cutter heroine.
When listening to the cast recording, the character that I really liked was Davey, especially during the Watch What Happens reprise. Ben Fankhauser is seriously an amazing actor, and I feel he brought a lot into that role. I didn't really like David in the movie, mostly because BEN IS LIFE, but over the course of the movie he grew on me, and I think I'll like the character no matter who plays him. As long as Nick Jonas stays out of the role, I'm good. :P
Crutchie is also incredible. I loved him in the movie, but in the musical... not so much. Andrew Keenan-Bolger seemed a little old for the part, no offense to any fans, but Crutchie's thirteen. THIRTEEN. In all the shots I've seen Andrew's Crutchie looks slightly like a middle-aged man with a newsboy cap. Then I discovered Andy Richardson and Zachary Sayle, and Crutchie became so many times better. And Letter from the Refuge, the song added for the US tour, is incredible.
Yes, they took a lot of good lines out of the movie, but I think that what they added makes up for it. I prefer the musical's version of Santa Fe (Corey Cott's version is the best ever!) and Seize the Day, but King of New York and Carrying the Banner are better in the movie. I think I'm done over-analyzing this now...
Haha, I guess you just prefer whichever show you saw first. I can totally see liking the musical more if you saw it first, because it IS a lot different. lol.
DeleteWell yeah, in the movie, they were more accurate, because newsies *were* kids, not 20-something guys... Movie Jack is a dork, but he means very well, and he's Christian Bale... so he wins. XD And since I grew up with Actual-Seventeen-year-old-Jack, I'm more into the 17 angle. I mean, they even say it in the musical, so he should be 17 lol. And you're right, the Jack really does make or break the show. :)
Oh really? That's interesting, because I wondered if other people would like her. And now I know that people do, so that's cool. :) She is a typical Disney heroine, which is okay, but I was really fond of Denton, so that automatically put her in a bad place in my mind. It's a fair point though, that's she's a good theatrical leading lady.
If Nick Jonas ever plays Davey, or Jack, for that matter, I will CRY. Ben does have a really good voice, and he's a good voice actor. HA So you didn't really like Davey for the same reasons I initially didn't like Jeremy Jordan! BOOM! I'm not the only one lol. Davey's a really interesting character, and I really like how he grows in the show, it's keeewl.
*Snort* Thank you. He does look way too old to be 13. Crutchie was so cute and tough in the movie! Andrew Keenan-Bolger really loved playing him, and you can tell, but yeah, I wasn't impressed with him at all.... OOH letter from the refuge? I haven't heard that. I should look it up. lol. And I"ll look up those two other Crutchies and see how they are. XD
They took out a lot of my favorite lines... *sad face. All tears* I'll look up Corey Cott's version of Santa Fe, but I think the movie is still gonna be betterrrr. King of New York had SPOT in it in the Movie, and I missed his face!
Nah, you're not over-analyzing, you're being thorough. :)
I did the same thing. I listened to the music first then I loved the movie (!) but didn't hear all the songs and was confused. So I watched the musical. So...I prefer the music of the musical but the story-line of the movie.
DeleteWeeellll that's a fair compromise. lol. :)
DeleteI want to see Newsies SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BAD NOW! And I shall watch the movie! When I get the chance but mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn it's like everything amazing. XD EEK! Awesome post.
ReplyDeleteI love it when you're silly so that question isn't applicable. XD
IF YOU CAN'T FIND IT, I'LL SHOW IT TO YOU WHEN YOU COME OUT. BUT BE WARNED, I MIGHT SING ALONG. IT IS, LIKE EVERYTHING AMAZING. IT'S THE BEST. Ehem. Thank you .
DeleteYou thought I was being silly. *blows a cyber raspberry at you*
OMGGGG I'M HAVING SUCH A WEIRD SINCE OF WEIRDNESS RIGHT NOW. Okay, lemme explain. I kind of vaguely know about the original musical but a) I don't remember anything about it, and b) I had no idea it starred Christian Bale (FAJSDK BATMAN AFKJSDA) ... okay, but according to my family, when I was like 5 or 6 I was OBSESSED WITH IT. OBSESSED. And I don't even get that because I don't remember! But apparently I wore suspenders and a handkerchief around my neck and called myself Jack..
ReplyDeleteSo um.
Embarrassing moments with Cait.
BUT I REALLY WAS LIKE 5 OR SOMETHING.
And I don't remember. Like maybe possibly vaguely? BUT AJFDKSLA SO YES. This brought back like all these memories-i-don't-have. HAHAH. So you weren't the only one who had a crush on Jack Kelly.
Anyway I kind of want to watch it and see if it makes me remember my wild childhood embarrassment. HAHA. ZOMG. YES.
*slinks into hole of weirdness*
THAT IS THE CUTEST THING OF EVER, DO YOU HAVE A PICTURE, TELL ME YOU HAVE A PICTURE, SEND ME A PICTURE OF YOU AS JACK, BECAUSE THAT'S FRIKKEN ADORABLE. OMG. LOL. You should re-watch it because Christian Bale. XD XD
DeleteI love embarrassing moments with Cait.
AHAHAHAHAHA.
You should watch, so you can remember. XD Yeah, but you were five, and I was 11--.... through a really old age. XD
YOU HAVE TO.
I'll join you.
I have only seen the movie. And it was a long time ago when I did see and it is was only once. But it was my life when I did. I love how in the movie you get to know each of the newsies, They're individuals with their own dreams and lives.
ReplyDeleteOkay, they didn't keep Davey's sister as Jack's love interest? But that was great. Why would they take that out? Especially since it's more realistic than what they did do. . .
And there was no strong Jack and Davey friendship? What?! What do you people think this movie is about anyways? Maybe I remember incorrectly but doesn't the movie begin with Davey, from his perspective?
Denton became a girl? Eh, that doesn't not work for me either. I am with you. Equal Rights are good, but throw them in my face and drown out everything else and you lost me when you started beating your drums.
But I would watch the musical if given the chance. Because DANCING! But I really want to rewatch the movie. So bad!
Oh, have you seen My Fair Lady? That is one of my favorites!
Aw, you should give it a rewatch, because it's corny and fun and I really love it lol. Yeah! I really liked the individuality of the newsies in the movie, and I'm disappointed they didn't get that in the live version.
DeleteNope, they totally got rid of her, which is sad, because if it was a choice between her and Katherine, I'd choose her lol. I didn't like that change at all.
NO THERE WASN'T, I AM STILL MAD! The movie works BECAUSE of their friendship, and without it, the plot loses something. lol. No, the movie is still from Jack's perspective, but Davey's character is bigger.
Nah, didn't work at all. Hahaha, yeah. I tend to be a bit contrary when it comes to equal rights like that. Like, "Yes I like it, but if you force me to like it, I won't like it so there."
Yeah, I'd say it's worth the watch, it's just a lot different from the movie.
I HAVE! I love that one! OH OH Have you seen Happiest Millionaire?
No, I haven't seen that one. What's it about?
DeleteIt's about a well-to-do family at the turn of the century, who experience the changes of the time frame. But in a more interesting way. Like, okay. So the dad teaches a boxing bible class, and the girl is really good at boxing, and there's this odd Irish butler who doesn't mind that this family keeps like 12 alligators as pets. It's super fun. lol. I'm really bad at plot summaries. XD
DeleteOKAY SO I JUST FINISHED THE NEWSIES MOVIE. CAN I SAY AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. When I start movies like these, I get super nervous. Because I've had bad experience with older movies like Annie and whatnot. I absolutely /hated/ them. And this was somewhat similar, if you get my drift.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, that Newsie with the eye-patch. *squeals* I HAVE NO REAL REASON TO LOVE HIM BUT I DOOOOOOOOOOOO. And then I love Crutchie and Davey and Jack. *dies* Oh man. They are all so awesome.
The movie was a lot more different than I expected. In reality, I didn't expect a whole lot. I never did any reading up on the movie or anything because I was in love with the broadway. likehowcanyougetoverhowcutetheyallare Ahem. I mean what. XD I watched more of the videos of the cast on Broadway than I did of the actual show. XDDD DAVEEYYYY. *dies because I love him the most, I think*
Secondly, aslafhjksffnfnfnnnnnnnnnn the dancing in the movie is not what I'm used to. It looks a little more sloppy than currently (as in the dancing today). So I think that presents kind of a real angle and hilarity (to me) by that. Some days I just am like, "WHAT IF that's actually how they were back then. They had all these dances planned out and they just fall in sync and they sing random songs." XDDD It's a really dumb thought, but I am amused by it.
Thirdly, broadway and movie. I can't speak a real opinion on this. Because, now, I kind of regard them as different movies and things. There's the Newsies movie with people closer to my age and awesome and sweet and real and amazing and raw. And then there's the broadway which is totally like WOOOO ALL AMAZING SINGING AND DANCING AND CATCHY TUNES AND THE ACTORS ARE SO NICE TO EACH OTHER AHHHHHHHHHHHH. You feel me? *strokes invisible beard* So yeah.
Uhhh. Okay. I think that's it. Except I thought Jack was ugly when I first saw him and then now he's not ugly and he's cute. What even. XD I think it's like, if you like someone as a person, you won't care what they look like. That thought escapes your mind. You just love them and their personality and everything like that. So that definitely happened with the movie. I think that most people love people because of looks rather than actual quirks of people. Because the guys in the broadway are definitely more attractive (by today's standards) and it focuses more on what the world focuses on.
BUT with the movie, there's the i-don't-care-if-the-actors-are-attractive-as-long-as-they're-what-i-need thing. Something along those lines. it's more real and problematic and things like that. You know what I'm saying? DO YA? DOYAAAA?
XDDD Okay. yeah. that's ittttt.
FABULOUS POST AND I LOVE THEM ALL. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Newsies is going to be my favorite musical evah. I'm not usually into musicals, but I have an exception for this one. ;-)
No no, I know exactly what you mean. But Newsies is SPECIAL so it's okay!!!!!!!!
DeleteNEWSIE WITH THE EYEPATCH....that's Kid Blink. Don't ask how I know that, but yeah, he's awesome, and he had nice hair. XD
I love getting obsessed with stuff and watching all the behind the scenes, it's so fun, especially when the actors are nice. XD (And yeah, the movie is a lot different.)
HA! I know, life would be so much more awesome if people randomly started dancing, and everyone joined it. XD But yeah, I mean, the movie dancing is a little more sloppy, but that adds to the charm, and honestly, there's nothing more awesome than a bunch of angry boys dancing angrily. XD
YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSS VERY DIFFERENT, BUT HAVE YOU WATCHED THE BEHIND THE SCENES FOR THE MOVIE, BECAUSE BROTHERLY LOVE IS STRONG WITH THAT TOO. (I'll be honest, I'm not that into the musical so I didn't watch a ton of the behind the scenes lol.)
mmmmmmmmmm nope. I thought Christian Bale was beatiful the moment he showed up. INSTA LOVE> Erm. BUT YES, it's weird how people can be like, 'Meh, okay looking" and then you get to know them and they're all of the sudden SO ATTRACTIVE. Hehe, see I don't find typical attractive that attractive usually. I"M WEIRD> BUT YES I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, i DO, i DO!!!
Thank you. XD I worked hard on it. Newsies is a close runner up to PHantom. XD
SOMEHOW KID BLINK SOUNDS PERFECTLY RIGHT AND I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT????
DeleteI forgot to mention that Spot is fab. And Denton *scrolls up check if that's the right name* is totally amazing. I think I prefer him over the news lady on the broadway show. ALSOOOOOOOOO I'm taking the movie to Adelaide and Dally. Hannah and Jessika are actually around them in the summer (aka now XD) so they all can watch it. BUT I WON'T BE ABLE TO WATCH IT WITH THEM. *sobs in despair*
I'm a loser at fangirling. XDDD I will watch something, love it, forget everything. And then someone will mention a character and I'll be like, "Which one is that?" So then they have to explain to me what they look like. XDD The problem is, that problem is even worse with real life things. Though, I'm actually fairly well at remembering names if I try. I just don't remember to try when I watch movies.
NOT TO MENTION, that I don't go research behind the scenes and extras and all that. It has to be like Tenth Avenue North or something. *tries to think of a movie I know things about*
*there are none*
*insert Hercules yelling "DISAPPOINTED" here*
I found out, aFTER I watched the movie that there was the "Sing-along" option that shows you the lyrics to the songs. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL AND HILARIOUS. Because I turned it on and it was like, "mudda" for mother. XDD Accent lyrics. Aw yiss.
Hahahha. I find like nothing attractive. XDD ESPECIALLY THE BOYS IN TODAY'S WORLD. *sobs 5evah* Except for fictional characters. Why are all the fictional characters so awesome. LIKE KID BLINK. Actually, I don't know. Because I can only remember his eyes. Seeeeeeeeee, Treskie, I am awful at remembering things. I even watched the movie like TWO DAYS AGO. Ugh. whaiaiiii.
BUT ANYWAY, Spot is awesome. I just wanted to say that because I was pretty nervous about him in the beginning. But then I liked him a whole lot. *dies* I seriously cannot decide on my favorite character. XDD All of them are. Davey is actually most like me, so I might like him for that. I don't know why you'd like someone who reminded you of yourself, but I suppose you can. XD And then Jack is just too precious for my soulll. EEEP.
I can't wait for Adelaide to see it and then me and her can fangirl and she can remind me of everything and I will be like, "YEAHHHHH." XD
YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT, SHAME ON YOU. lol.
DeleteWhy can't you watch it with them, that is SAD! lol. I KNEW you were all of you friends and knew each other in real life, I KNEW IT. Ehem. Anyway, yes, show them, make them flip.
Hehee, oh well. I do kind of take fangirling to an extreme it shouldn't be taken to, so don't feel too bad. (And lots of the newsies have weird names so there that too lol.) BUT HEY, at least you're better in real life. I just have this knack for remembering *everything* so I have to pretend I don't know stuff so people don't flip out.
And yeah, the behind the scenes stuff doesn't interest me unless I'm *really* into it.... and I have to like the actors too, so.
Hahaha, I KNOW ALL THE LYRICS, JUST ASK. lol. But yeah, the sing along is priceless, and the way the newsies all sing with an accent cracks me up. XD
*snort* Kid Blink is sandy blond and he has a funny square nose. Fictional characters are the best, and this is why I will be single forever.
Spot it. WHY WERE YOU NERVOUS ABOUT HIM, HE WAS TINY AND ADORABLE. LOL. Jack's my favorite because Jack. XD
Is the fangirl strong with her? XD
I grew up with Newsies even though it's five years older than me my sister got me into it and it's always been a sibling oriented thing for us, I haven't seen the whole Broadway play but I've seen parts of it and heard the soundtrack being the newsies freak I am I too was super excited about it, but I couldn't help but be a critic over and over again there's just so many bad things that outweigh the good of it........so I decided to stick to the movie and pretend that Broadway doesn't exist......too shallow of me? Maybe but it's soooooooo terrible.
ReplyDeleteWell I didn't watch it for a while, so it was a BIG BANG OF AWESOME for me. lol. Yeah, it reminds me of my best friend (she hooked me on it. lol.)
DeleteBut yeah, thank you. The bad does outweigh the good, because I mostly hated it, and now I tolerate it lol. NAH NOT SHALLOW, *FIST BUMB OF NEWSIES MOVIE LOVE*
I love the Movie so much!
ReplyDeleteSAAAAAAME!
DeleteI JUST READ THIS AGAIN AND NOW I WANT TO WATCH NEWSIES
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S CAUSE I'M AWESOME.
DeleteI was devestated when ibsaw the musical. I paid for tickets for my entire family to see it for my birthday and from the opening act i knew it was a mistake. I have been a die hard fan since i was 11 years old...seeing this abomination almoat had me in tears. If i could get my hands on the fiends who thought Harvey Denton could be replaced by an unnecessay mewling self congragulatory love interest i would probably get physical.
ReplyDeleteThey ruined my birthday.
well first of all, I'm sorry for you ruined birthday, that is terrible. :(
DeleteBUT HAHA I'M SORRY YOUR COMMENT MADE MY WHOLE WEEK, THANK YOU!!
Huge Newsies fan - just saw the musical. I hated the erasure of Denton and Sarah and I agree that if they wanted a bigger female lead they should have just fleshed out Sarah's part a bit more or had her helping more with the strike.
ReplyDeleteI also totally agree about the new songs not fitting the time period - or a lot of Katherine's dialogue, actually.
I don't agree that the new songs were good. They didn't have the same snap as the originals. And I was furious at the way they mutilated the originals. They took out good punchy lines with a lot of feeling to replace them with flat lines that didn't rhyme or convey any depth of emotion.
But, I do agree about the choreography. It was amazing.
You know, rereading this post, I was way too kind to that musical. lol.
DeleteYES EXACTLY. UUUGh. I loved Denton's character and Katherine is just a twerp. (totally obnoxious voice too, like whoa.)
YES YES YES. I've been thinking that too. I introduced my friends to Newsies, and when it was over, I made them listen to Jeremy Jordan's Santa Fe, and they were like, "WHAT ISSSSS THAAAAAT?" and I was so proud.
*high fives for mutual dislike*
This physically pained me to read. I hope you lay awake each night thinking about all the sane people who actually enjoy the masterpiece that is newsies the musical lmao (and Jeremy Jordan’s fucking angelic voice - let’s face it, you couldnt sing it half as well, so remind me, who are you to criticise?)
ReplyDeleteAw, I'm so sorry your feelings were hurt.
DeleteI lay awake some nights, not all of them, (it's just not that big a deal, you know?) thinking about how much better the show could have been. (It's hardly a masterpiece,seeing as it's using all the music from the original Movie, with the songs that were added being somewhat subpar)
You allowed to have a different opinion, it's a free country, but that doesn't change the fact that most of the changes they made were totally unnecessary.
That being said, no I couldn't sing it the way Jeremy Jordan did, because AAAAY I'M A GIRL. But I do have voice training and I can sing pretty well, so I can make a valid criticism. I know some people who think he's great, personally, I think he's average.
But yeah. Sorry you took the time to read something so painful, I hope the person who was holding you down and forcing you to read it gets caught. (Unless you weren't held down and forced? If that's the case why did you bother reading?)
If you disagree, you're more than welcome to state your opinions, but I'll thank you to keep a civil tongue in your head, and not swear in my comment section.
Have a good day.
Have you seen the movie? YAS! I've always been a fan of the whole "tough guys group" sort of thing, like the Outsiders for example - LOVED that book and the movie! 'Newsies" for me was like another "Outsiders" film, but standing on its own two feet. Loved it. Loved the originality, the singing, the "manly boys", and the less "inyourface" feminazi stuff that they seem to have in every movie nowadays!
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the musical? Nope. But I WAS wondering about it so, really glad ya cleared it up for me before I got seriously disappointed and mad AF. :)
Do you think I'm being silly? Heck no! I agree 100% with your viewpoints. :)
OOOOH SAME!
DeleteWait, what is Outsiders about? That sounds like a good time lol. (Dem manly boys doh. So good, such teamwork. Many bros lol. And yes, can't stand feminazis.)
LOL Yeah! No problem haha. It's actually on Netflix, if you have it. I showed bits of it to some of my family and we all had a good laugh.)
Awww thank you! You're awesome!
I have to agree mostly. I prefered the movie. I liked the musical but it felt empty. Also Dave and Spot had like...no parts and they're my favorite characters. I agree that you couldn't connect to the characters. They really didn't have a life or personality, I guess? Maybe? Also the climax just felt shallow, weak and pointless. Like...well Jack's insane, Now what? Then again in the musical Jack hardly seemed like the leader of the Strike. He was never there, like he came up with the idea and then left Dave to it. He was hardly connected at all...it was as if he was the main story and the strike was just a side conflict he has to deal with. In the movie the strike was the main story and all the characters were a part of it. Here it was well here's the strike but...moving on. In all I liked it but I was disappointed. I kinda forced myself to finish it...(I watched it online) The main pro I had was that I liked the new songs like "Watch what happens" (especially the reprise) and "Brooklyn's here." And I didn't mind the change of the reporter, just that it took away from the overall story. If they'd incoporated it better I'd have liked the overall musical better. But overall I found it good, just not as good as the movie.
ReplyDeleteYeah exactly! Spot and Davey were huge characters and they got relegated to generic side characters. :(
DeleteHahaha, Jack's insane... That's actually a fair point. Yeah, Jack didn't seem to care one way or the other about the strike, and that's annoying, seeing as he's supposedly the leader. *scowls*
That being said, lol, lets agree to disagree on the reporter haha. :)
But yeah, the way you put it, about it being good, but not as good as the movie, it's a pretty accurate description of how I feel. XD
Okay! So I'm kinda late on the newsies train, but over the last few months I have become obsessed (with the musical not the movie). So I'm and 2000s baby so I didn't "grow up" with Newsies the movie. So I watch Supergirl and I love Jeremy Jordan. I knew he did broadway musicals and could sing and all tat good stuff, so when I saw Newsies: LIVE (the live recording of the broadway musical with part OBC and part tour cast) come on Netflix, I immediately added it to my list. I had been wanting to watch it for a while but never got around to it. So this past summer, I went to Disney and this one guy who knew I was obsessed with musicals (mainly Hamilton at the time) asked if I had listened to/watch Newsies. At the time, I had listened to a few songs but not the whole soundtrack (the broadway one). So I had something the week after I got back so the week after that I watched Newsies: LIVE for the first time. I immediately fell in love with it. Not long after, I learned there was a movie that the musical was based off of. So one week during the summer, I watched a version of Newsies once everyday (I get extremely obsessed with stuff), six times the broadway one and once the movie. I thought it was good but I have always had a soft spot for broadway so in my mind almost anything broadway is better. I am kinda biased. I think it is because I watched the musical first and the fact that it is broadway and is Jeremy Jordan, but I still loved the movie and would gladly watch it again; however, the broadway version will always be first in my book.
ReplyDeleteI'm a 2000's kid too, so I didn't grow up with the Newsies movie, but I heard the soundtrack from the musical and got obsessed. Then I watched the movie. If you haven't already you have to oml it's basically my favorite now.
DeleteHahah, no worries at all, a lot of people come late to fandoms. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I totally get that if you saw the broadway musical first, you'd be more into it. Theyr'e SO DIFFERENT that I just don't think you can like them equally, even with the best of intentions. It's really just frustrating how political they made it and how lousy the musical adaption was in comparison to the movie.
But to each his own I suppose, thanks for commenting! I hope you listen to other musicals and get fully obsessed in the musical theatre world!
"But they got rid of Denton, who was a really good father figure to the Newsies, and inserted Katherine Plummer who is extremely obnoxious."
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! This! I HATED Katherine!!!! She's so freaking annoying! Denten for life! But Sarah was so freaking annoying too! Also the guy that played Davey in the musical was crap. I mean, sometimes I liked him, but most of the time I was like, please, let's get the movie Davey on screan now.
I hated the bonus slow going verse in Seize the Day. It's suppose to be a fast moving and urgent song! We don't have time to waste, people! We've got a srike going on!
It was really disappointing when they cut out Francis Sulliven. I really liked that part.
Have you seen the movie?
I saw the movie first.
Have you seen the musical?
Yes. The Broadway recording and life. (I'm seeing it life soon, again!)
Have you seen both?
Yes.
Which do you prefer? (I promise not to be a jerk if you like the musical better. ;)
I love both. They both have their flaws and weaknesses. I thought that the Broadway recording had much more energy to it. The characters in that one were more easily loved. I love the movie too.
Do you think I'm being silly?
No! Your stating your opinion! I agree with you on many levels.
Seize the Day!
Sarah was annoying but at least her character fit the time frame and se wasn't just out there to use the newsies to further her own gain. lol
DeleteTHAT ANNOYED ME TOO, LIKE THE FRANCIS SULLIVAN ANGLE WAS GOOD AND THEY SHOULD HAVE LEFT THAT ALONE. WOW.
I saw the movie first too. *fist bump*
Niiiiiice!
Hey at least you can acknowledge the downfalls of the musical too! Thanks for commenting!
Have a good one. :)
I think Katherine was created out of necessity. Sarah Jacobs had the personality of a brick the only reason Sarah existed was because Disney wanted jack to have a love interest apparently the executives thought people might perceive the jack as gay as gay (you can look it up that is actually the reason she is in the movie). Kathrine Plumber was a mix between Denton and Sarah probably created for money. The more characters = more paychecks after all. Because Disney executives created Sarah as a tool to prevent gay shipping why not just remove her from the equation entirely and bring Denton back.
ReplyDeleteThe movie will forever be the best. I'm sorry, not sorry, but I will never ever watch the Broadway musical. I think it's an insult to the movie. I was excited when I heard it was going to be a Broadway show until they were on Good Morning America doing Seize the Day and the lyrics were changed as I was singing along and that right now pissed me off and right then I knew the show was gonna be lame. I refuse to watch the Broadway musical. I have been a fan of Christian Bale since 1987/88. Jack Kelly is my all time favorite character he played. He was Jack Kelly. The rest of the cast of the movie also were awesome as well. I had already been a fan of Max Casella from Doogie Howser M.D and a few others I recognized of course. Changing Denton to a woman was STUPID and they totally ripped the legacy of Newsies changing too much of Newsies to bring to Broadway. Couldn't they at least keep it closer to the movie? I mean change a few things to bring it to Broadway? For me personally it just makes me mad that they would do that to such a cult classic movie of the early 90's.
ReplyDeleteI’ve just been reading through your comparison, and I can just say at the end of the day a musical is different to a film it’s the same story but they’ve have to change things, it’s like Harry Potter with the books in the film they’re not always the same and anything from book to film they have to play to the audience the film works amazingly but in musical theatre they have to change things as well I think the Broadway musical was absolutely incredible
ReplyDeleteI don't care one way or another if you like the musical. Go for it. But I was way too kind in this review and frankly the musical is unnecessarily different. It did not need that many garbage changes and I don't like it.
DeleteFirst of all, Jeremy Jordan was not Christian Bale, he was better. Kathrine's voice an be annoying, but her personality and wits make up for it. There really wasn't that much swearing, and when they did swear it was placed so expertly that it gave me goosebumps. In the movie Jack Kelly is rough and tumble. In the musical that was just the way he portrayed himself and inside he was a poetic painter and a romantic. When Jack sings Santa Fe, most of the time he isn't even talking about Santa Fe. Jack is just searching for a paradise, a place where none of his problems are real. Talking about Santa Fe is such a big part of his charector. In the movie the Santa Fe plot line seemed super out of place. I loved how the musical made it the opener, it added such an interesting dynamic to Jack's charector. Your being very exaterative, if you listen Jeremy doesn't crack that often. Santa Fe is raw and vulrable, the reprise was not and I loved that. Jack was angry ad upset, it broke my heart to watch while the movie didn't
ReplyDeletelol *hands you a paper bag to breathe into.* chill
DeleteI haven't seen the movie yet, just the musical. Personally I love Jeremy Jordan as Jack. He can sing and dance incredibly and is great fun to watch. I did think spot was underused though. He's built up a bunch and then gets one song and becomes a background character. I quite like Katherine but maybe that's just me. I did think her being Pulitzer's daughter was stupid. Excited to check out the movie when I get a chance.
ReplyDeleteI mean at this point you can like whichever you want, I just personally think the musical is trash. :D
DeleteI enjoyed reading your review, but I'd like to add something regarding Katherine.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I totally agree you in that she plays a flippant excuse for a 'feminist' character and is generally just annoying. Clearly, she was added to make the musical seem 'inclusive' or '[insert annoying phrase here]'. She also has little personality and her role definitely detracts from the meaning of the whole thing - feminism is cool (in principle) but the musical is not supposed to be about that.
However, I will have to disagree with you on the point that Katherine made the musical 'too political'; it's about a newsboy strike! You can't get much more political than that! In fact, coming back to Newsies recently I was surprised that it was produced by Disney due to it's political nature.
Now, it could be argued that the introduction of Katherine was a good distraction from the true (and inescapable) politics of the story. Corporate 'wokeness' is ubiquitous nowadays and Disney is no exception. Katherine fits right in with that narrative: 'strong' female character who barely even touches the boundaries she's marketed to be breaking. Even besides this I found her a frankly irritating character with little to make her at all different from literally anything else Disney has made (or musicals in general, to be honest).
Anyway, back to the inherent politics of Newsies. Now, I shouldn't need to explain how a musical detailing a newsboy strike against one of (if not the) largest and most powerful companies in the country (in terms of influence) is political... Newsies is political; we love to see it. I found many of the lines to be strikingly poignant, which for a Disney play is quite shocking. It's quite ironic (and entertaining) that one of the most famous and successful corporations in the world produced such a jarringly anti-capitalist musical.
Basically, whether you agree with the messaging or not, Newsies is very political, which is not a criticism in the slightest!
Finally, to bring it together I would like to elaborate on my take on Katherine's role regarding the politics of Newsies. Now, I'm not opposed to a feminist character done well (which Katherine was not), but there is most definitely a time and place for it. You said Newsies was about 'Newsies are employees too!' whereas Katherine made it 'equal rights' but 'too much'. In my opinion, Newsies is about worker's rights (and especially child workers) and the power of the collective, which isn't to far off how you put it, in all honesty. I'd say that Katherine's 'feminism' cheapens that sentiment and rather focuses on corporate nonsense instead of, you know, something useful and a good message.
Anyway, I think Katherine could've been made better if they hadn't focussed so much on 'first female reporter yayyyy' and perhaps they wouldn't sound like a whiny US liberal on Twitter trying to do 'feminism'. Maybe getting rid off her as a whole would be a better solution; I don't know.
I know this is long but I would like to just say that I agree with you in that the dancing is really, really good in the musical. In fact, it's one of the reasons I love it so much. I don't mind Jeremy Jordan personally, but his Jack is certainly very different from Bale's.
Finally, what did you mean about Les Mis not being 'clean'? I love that musical (it's my childhood) and I'm just curious what you meant :)
I didn't say it made it too political, I said that Katherine being such a huge character ultimately took away from the original plot of "Newsboys deserved to be treated well."
DeleteThat being said, You do make some valid points, but she's such a lousy character, there's really no saving her. And like you suggested, getting rid of her on the whole would *definitely* have been a better solution. ;)
Les Mis not being clean, just means there's some dirty/inappropriate/sensual stuff in it that is not useful or needed. Now I'm not saying I don't like it! Les Mis is one of my top five favorite musicals, it's great. I just skip a couple of songs like, "Lovely Ladies" and "Master of the House" because A. Lovely Ladies is hecking inappropriate and they could have totally shown or portrayed Fantine's struggle without being so in-your-face about it, and B. Master of the House not only has bad lyrics but takes Our Lord's Name in vane in every refrain and because I'm Catholic and so follow God's laws, taking God's name in vain is against the second commandment and I will not tolerate it. :)
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ReplyDeleteFull disclosure, I watched the bootlegs of the Broadway/Tour musical years ago, then the Pro-Shot & most recently the 1992 film. So I came to know Newsies as a Broadway musical first. I of course knew it was based on a movie, but I never really felt the need to watch it until recently. I guess at the time, given a choice between a critically-panned, notorious box office flop of movie with multiple Razzie nominations versus a critically acclaimed & commercially successful musical stage adaptation with multiple Tony nominations, it was a no brainer that I would gravitate towards the musical. It was also around the time the tour was in full swing so fans of the musical were very active on Tumblr & Twitter. It didn't help that any article that mentions the movie always noted what a massive failure it was. And that Christian Bale treats it like an Old Shame. I just thought of it as a failed relic from which the musical was adapted from.
Now that I've seen it though, its actually pretty good. I actually like both the film and the musical. I feel like I don't have the familiarity bias that most fansies who grew up watching the movie seem to have which is why they hate the musical so much. Though I acknowledge that I may prefer the musical since I saw it first.
Christian Bale was great as Jack, but for all his charisma, he cannot carry a tune, which is pretty important for a lead in a movie musical. I understand that this was not his fault as he signed up when the movie was conceived as a drama, before it was turned into a musical. But wow, his Santa Fe was hard to get through. As for the musical, I prefer Corey Cott & Joe Barreiro's Jack than Jeremy Jordan's. And like you, I also liked that they made Jack an artist as opposed to a wannabe cowboy.
I really like Jack & David's relationship in the movie more than in the musical. It was more fleshed out & dare I say it, Christian Bale had more chemistry with David Moscow than with the girl who played Sarah. I was like, "Just kiss already!" lol. The "Ho Yay" is strong in this movie. David is a more central character in the film, I think they diminished his importance in the musical, but I still liked his role.
I understand why Sarah seems to be hated by the fandom & why she was cut from the musical. Her character was very under written & was kind of useless. The scenes she has with Jack feel out of place. It feels like she was just inserted into the movie so that Jack will have someone to kiss at the end (it should have been Davey!). I do prefer Katherine. As for Les, in the movie he was a typical kid which I liked. In the musical he was a bit more precocious but then again he needed to be since it was a stage musical. It would have been boring if he just stood there. But still movie!Les was more realistic.
I liked that in the musical, they expanded the role of Cruchie to almost be like a brother to Jack. It was nice that he was close to someone before David came along.
I think the biggest issue is the omission of Denton with Katherine replacing him & Sarah as the journalist & the love interest respectively. Katherine's role was inevitable. The musical needed a lead female character & the journalist role is the one that made the most sense. There were female reporters at the time (Katherine is apparently based on Annie Kelly). Creating a new female newsie or turning one of the other newsies into a girl would not have worked since aside from Jack, David, Cruchie & Les, all of them are minor characters in the musical. Expanding Medda or Sarah's roles would not have made sense since they were not largely involved in the main story. Making the reporter a woman made the most sense. At first I did not like her, but "Watch What happens" sold me. She's not my favorite character or anything, but I don't mind her. I do feel that they lost something as well when they removed Denton as a paternal figure for the newsies, especially for David.
Yeah apparently it really tanked at the box office and was considered a failure left, right, and center, but seeing as I don't really care what other people think, and if I like a movie, I like a movie, that really didn't mean a thing to me.
DeleteMost people who've seen the musical first do prefer it, but honestly, I was way too nice about my feelings for the musical in this post lol.
As for Christian Bale not being able to carry a tune, I disagree, he can and does, and just because he can't belt it out like good ol' crack-every-second Jeremy Jordan, I would argue that his Santa Fe version carries a lot more vulnerability vs all the guys on broadway using it to showboat.
Yeah, I didn't see any "ho yay" in the movie, and thank goodness for that, because that trash doesn't need to be anywhere. I'm pretty sick of people taking good wholesome friendships and forcing homosexual garbage onto it. Sure Jack had better chemistry with Davy, chemistry can show up in friendships too, and everyone is going to have better chemistry on set with someone who can actually ACT, as opposed to having chemistry with someone who has the acting ability of a hammer. But no, Jack is a man's man and is definitely not going to go around kissing other men, so that's good.
Personally, I don't think that musical really needs a female in it at all really, not every story needs to have a girl in it. Some stories are just great stories, and there's no need to force a girl into it for the sole purpose of being the love-interest. But more to the point, whether or not "Katherine" really existed or not, she wouldn't have been young enough to date a 17 year old.
And yeah, Denton not being there as the paternal figure really leaves a hole because all of those boys needed someone to look up to and respect and instead of having that, they got "Fight the Patriarchy Kathy" and I loathe that. --
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ReplyDeleteNow for Medda. Oh boy, she creeped me out in the movie. I know I am viewing this film through a 21st century lens but it was so squicky how this woman who is clearly in her 50's openly flirted with the newsies. Jack even kissed her. I liked the stage version better. She was funny & sweet. She flirts with GROWN MEN & doesn't hit on minors like a perv. lol. Robert Duvall's Pulitzer was just embarrassing. Such a great actor but I did not like his choices. Not that the musical version of Pulitzer is nuanced but I liked the more grounded approach.
I didn't like how they demoted Spot Conlon into an extra in the musical. Brooklyn sort of just appeared at the end. They didn't even participate in any fights. WTF? Of the other minor Newsies in the movie, I liked Racetrack the best.
The resolution of the strike in the movie was too sudden & was never explained I liked that in the musical they explained it a bit more & that the deal they got was historically accurate.
As for the music, I may be biased here since I've listened to the OBC recording many times, but I prefer the lyrics & orchestrations of the musical. It just feels more epic. It didn't hurt that they were sung by trained singers as well.
So all in all, as a fan of the Broadway musical, I enjoyed the movie. I understand why it's a cult classic, but I also can see the flaws that its critics have pointed out. I still prefer the musical but then again maybe I'm just biased since I saw it first.
Honestly, the whole Medda thing was kinda strange but I didn't get a creepy vibe from her. She came off as more of a crazy aunt than anything else, and she was there for the boys when no one else was. I couldn't stand Medda in the musical, because I really didn't appreciate that she was having affairs with people all over the place, why do new musicals have to make things so weird all the time?
DeleteBUT 100% AGREE THAT MAKING SPOT CONLON INTO A USELESS SIDE CHARACTER WAS STUPID AS HECK.
I saw the movie when I was little and I don't remember much about it. The musical is my absolute favorite of all time ever (that music is spot-on). I've been researching the actual history behind the story recently and I've found a lot of changes, which I find interesting--for instance, the end of the movie was actually less historically accurate than the end of the musical. Sadly, the Santa Fe thing has zero historical significance :C
ReplyDeleteI used to like Katherine a lot more (come on, she was the only female character, and she was a writer) but now I'm not as sure (honestly I don't listen to either love song from the musical because they low-key annoy me). I think the love interest from the movie might actually have existed? Jack, Crutchie, and Katherine didn't (Dave shares a name with one of the strike leaders), but most of the background newsies were real--Race, Kid Blink (the kid who started the strike in real life), and a few others that I forgot lol. Katherine might have been based off of Annie Kelly, though? Or maybe not. Idk
Honestly, I had no problem with Jack's character in the musical. He had a lot more depth than a lot of others on Broadway (not naming names). Crutchie annoyed me when I first saw the musical (I was little) but I like his character more now.
There are a lot of things about this musical that are done really, really well though--like you said, the dancing, but also the music, the sets, and the plot. I just finished Save the Cat! which is a book about plotting screenplays (technically I read the one for novelists, but same principle) and honestly, Newsies fits in their plot structure perfectly (as do the Hunger Games, Pride and Prejudice, the Princess Diaries, and a lot of other great stories). I watched the Into the Woods movie recently and I was really thrown off by the pacing (still loved it but that's not what we're talking about), but with Newsies everything that happens makes total sense (almost.)
I kinda wish there was more of Dave in the musical. He's the only sensible one in this mess. (Kidding. Mostly.) But they still developed his character pretty well, I think.
Maybe I'd think differently if I saw Wicked or Hamilton or Les Mis or one of the other big musicals (my parents won't let me see the Hamilton pro shot for another few months 'cause I'm still a child), but Newsies is still my favorite...along with the other twelve I listen to but never mind that.
side note: i really wanted to write an essay here about the 1899 newsboy strike but i didn't 'cause probably nobody cares but there's a really interesting article here http://www.rebresearch.com/blog/the-real-jack-kelly-of-newsies/
The movie might not have been historically accurate per se, but it had the class to keep the heart of the strike front and center. And maybe Santa Fe wasn't specifically there for newsies, the draw of the new life in the West was, at the time, a huge thing for people who felt trapped in the cities of the East.
DeleteI don't know that much about Annie Kelly, I know there was a striker who was a girl, but mostly Katherine just makes me want to hurl.
Frankly, Crutchy from the movie had so much more character and fight in him that the Crutchy from the musical, like dude, get it together and stop crying jeez.
Ooooh, having the musical fit a structure does make sense though!
Eehhh, Hamilton and Wicked are highly overrated, and Les Mis is quite good, (Although you should skip Lovely Ladies and Master of the House, because INAPPROPRIATE) I'd reccoment Secret Garden and Tale of Two Cities over that.
That's so cool, thanks for the link! I'll check it out.
One thing I don’t usually see commented upon (I’m a huge fan of both the movie and the Broadway version) is the fact that in the movie, Robert Duvall at least gave a nod to the fact that in real life, in 1899, Pulitzer was totally blind! Yep. In the stage version, Steve Blanchard didn’t even try. Yet more ableism… also in the read story, the strike leader was half blind. But in both the movie and the stage version the disabled character is just the cute sidekick. At least Kid Blink made in into the movie version in some form!
ReplyDeleteSo that’s my beef with Newsies! Now back to singing along with “The World Will Know” :)
The reporter that covered the story was a woman. They changed that in the movie because the movie is trash.
ReplyDeleteAre we a little butthurt by the review? Lol you would lose your mind if I had been more honest about the atrocity that was the musical. Lol This post is literally 7 years old, move on.
DeleteI agree with the first comments that were made. I too loved the movie. However, I disliked the musical. Everything that Treskie complained about in the musical, I have always complained about. However, I mostly disliked the ages of the newsies. As Treskie said, the newsies were all in their 20s. At that time, newsies were children, not young adults. They often lived in special rooming houses. All the newsies in the musical were muscular adult males, not young children. It was ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI saw the movie when i was a kid...and I absolutely loved loved the movie. Its hard for me to watch it now and not think "Im Batman". I have never given the Broadway show a second thought nor the version shown on Disney+ (which is the musical taped) Jack is Bale....plain and simple. They changed too much (based on what i read above) i know these replies are from a few years ago..but i really enjoyed your thorough description of both sides. Thank you. I have always had the idea for the local high school to do the plah based off the movie..changing nothing. How the sets would look..the interactions with characters. Nothing would change....at all! Thank you again for your breakdown. Im 39 and i still watch the movie once a year. Its a classic. Because Jack..is..Bale and Bale...is Jack.
ReplyDeleteThanks