Get ready to seize the day! After the spectacular success of American Idiot and A Christmas Carol, Globe Live is again partnering with 9 Works Theatrical to bring the Disney turned Broadway classic Newsies to the Philippines, becoming the country’s first dance musical.
“We’re excited because Globe Live is the first production house outside Disney to be granted rights to stage Newsies,” reveals Executive Producer and Globe Retail Transformation and Stores Management Advisor Joe Caliro. “This is a reflection of how we are committed to bringing world-class productions to Filipino audiences. The way our previous productions were received shows how there is a strong clamor for good theater.”
Before you catch the boys of Newsies when they hit the stage at the Globe ICONIC Store in July, here are 10 things you need to know about this dance musical extravaganza:
- Newsies is loosely based on the real-life 1899 newsboy strike in New York City, where a group of boys initiated a strike hoping to improve how child laborers were compensated.
- Disney adapted the story into a film in 1992, with first-time director Kenny Ortega, who achieved fame for choreographing the concerts of Cher, Gloria Estefan, and Michael Jackson, and films like Xanadu, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Dirty Dancing. He would later direct films like Hocus Pocus and the High School Musical trilogy.
- The lead character Jack “Cowboy” Kelly, who initiated the strike, was played by Christian Bale, who was 17 years old at the time. He didn’t know it would be a musical, and when he was told, he tried to arrange a deal where he wouldn’t sing and dance.
- The twelve songs featured in the film were written by noted composers J.A.C. Redford and Alan Menken. Menken is the decorated composer responsible for the scores of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tangled, and Sausage Party. He also composed the score for A Christmas Carol, which Globe Live staged last December.
- The film didn’t do so well in the box office, but it gained cult status when it was released on home video. Fans of the film (and later, the Broadway musical) are called Fansies. Bale once said, “You say something bad about Newsies and you have an awful lot of people to answer to.”
- Newsies was adapted to the stage in 2011, and premiered on Broadway in 2012. It was so well-loved that it became Disney’s fastest Broadway musical to make profit.
- Jeremy Jordan, who portrayed lead roles in shows like Smash and Supergirl, played Jack “Cowboy” Kelly. When it premiered on Broadway, Bale revealed that he had no plans of seeing the show. He said, “I’m not really into musicals. But I wish them the best. And I’m sure the person playing the character I played exceeded whatever I did, and congratulations to them.”
- Menken returned to arrange the score for the musical, along with original lyricist Jack Feldman. They added six new songs, including “The Bottom Line,” “That’s Rich” and “Something to Believe In.”
- Newsies the musical was nominated for eight Tony Awards in 2012, winning Best Choreography and Best Original Score.
- The musical had a two year run on Broadway, closing on August 24, 2014 after 1,005 performances.
Disney’s Newsies will be staged starting in July at the Globe Iconic Store in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.