Get yer ‘Newsies’ here! Hit play is coming to Costa Mesa
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The movie was a box office flop. It received negative reviews and barely lasted two weeks in theaters.
But “Newsies,” the musical drama that premiered 24 years ago on celluloid, garnered a cult-like following on home video. Fans of the movie uploaded film scenes on social media websites, and schools performed songs — many of which speak to teenage rebellion and standing up for principles — during campus assemblies.
The unprofitable film turned financially successful when it developed into a stage adaptation and became a smash on Broadway, winning two Tony Awards.
Now “Newsies” is heading to Segerstrom Center for the Arts, where it will run for 16 performances this month.
And such a headline still comes as a surprise to Tony Award-winning lyricist Jack Feldman.
“If you had told me four years ago that the tour would go on, I would’ve said you need to be put away somewhere,” Feldman said by phone from his home in New York City. “We had no expectations.”
Feldman was brought into the project by Walt Disney Pictures, which had produced the movie. Once company officials learned that schools were creating student adaptations of the film, they wanted to maintain quality control over the stage version. And that meant having Feldman come up with the lyrics for a play that would improve on the movie — and then licensing it and retaining royalties.
Feldman, who wrote the lyrics for Barry Manilow’s Grammy Award-winning song “Copacabana,” collaborated with Tony-winning playwright Harvey Fierstein and Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken to change the film’s storyline and character relationships.
The team doubled the score, introducing seven new songs, and rewrote key plot scenes they felt had hampered the movie.
Set in New York City at the turn of the century, the story centers on Jack Kelly, a newsboy and leader of a band of fellow teenage “newsies” who dream of a better life far from the streets.
Reflecting reality in the newspaper world, publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, and Jack finds a cause to fight for. He rallies his fellow newsies across the city to strike for what they felt was right.
When the stage version opened in 2012, “Newsies” was intended for a Broadway run of 101 performances, but the show’s fans propelled it to a run of 1,005 performances, with an attendance of more than 1 million theatergoers and a gross of over $100 million.
The crowd-pleaser, which was directed by Jeff Calhoun and showcased high-energy numbers and dance movements choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, defied all expectations, Feldman said
Several of the film’s beloved songs, like “Carrying the Banner,” “Seize the Day” and “Santa Fe,” remain in the musical, but Feldman said he is most proud of his enhancements to “King of New York,” a song in the second act.
“It was an afterthought and we wrote it very quickly, and it turned out to be one of the most successful songs,” Feldman said of the number that forms the basis of a dance-packed scene. “There’s such an excitement with it, and it works very well on stage.”
Feldman, who recently won a Tony along with Menken for “Newsies,” had spent several years writing pop songs and music for movies and TV, including “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York” and the television series “The Little Mermaid.”
He said he enjoys writing for plays and musicals because he doesn’t have to invent from scratch and instead can take inspiration from plot and characters.
As for that song about the Copacabana, the hottest spot north of Havana?
“We could do whatever we wanted with it,” Feldman said with a laugh. “Now that was fun.”
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IF YOU GO
What: “Newsies”
When: Tuesday through May 29; 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays
Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Cost: Tickets start at $25
Information: (714) 556-2787 or visit scfta.org
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Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
