Disney Movie Musical vs. Stage Show Comparison: Newsies

These days, I do most of my music listening in the car, so it’s rare that I take the time to sit down with a cast recording’s CD booklet and read a show synopsis.  Obviously, the songs often give you a pretty decent overview of the story, and in the case of a screen-to-stage musical like Newsies, the cast recording offers some hints about what got changed in the transition.  But one of the benefits of seeing the show’s filmed stage version recently was the chance see how the entire story plays out and, for good or bad, what’s been cut, added, or tweaked (a few spoilers.)

Before we get to the story itself, I want to give a quick nod to the score.  For the most part, I love the added lyrics to the songs from the movies.  While it’s largely just a means of making the songs a bit longer, the show doesn’t waste the opportunity, adding some really well-written new verses to “The World Will Know” and “Seize the Day.”  While I’m less convinced about “Santa Fe,” because I liked it as a more straightforward “I want” song in the film, the reasons for making it more overtly emotional and plot-driven make sense within the context of the show, and it does allow for a more thorough explanation of Jack’s motivations for wanting to leave beyond the “go West, young man” thing.  As for the six new songs (and two reprises) written for the Broadway production, I could take or leave most of them.  Neither of Jack and Kate’s romantic numbers do much for me, Pulitzer’s song is fine but unextraordinary, and Medda’s new song isn’t really any better or worse than either of the ones from the film version that got cut here.  That said, “Brooklyn’s Here” is one of my absolute favorites on the album, and I love both “Watch What Happens” and its reprise.

Speaking of “Watch What Happens,” that brings us nicely to Kate.  I really like that the show combines love interest Sarah and journalist Denton into one new character.  Not only does Kate improve on the somewhat blank Sarah, but making the reporter a young woman working towards a career in a changing world is a smart move.  It gives one of the few women in the story an actual arc, and it strengthens the connection she feels to the newsies because, even though she’s older than them, she knows all too well what it’s like to feel insignificant in the eyes of the rich and powerful.  But while I like Kate from a journalist standpoint, pairing her romantically with Jack doesn’t work quite as well for me.  It’s true that she has more of a story and personality than Sarah, but she appears to be quite a bit older than him, and the reveal that she’s actually Pulitzer daughter makes seem more unlikely that she’d wind up with a homeless teenager with probably only minimal education (I know – minus the age difference, that’s basically Jasmine & Aladdin, Anna & Kristoff, and plenty of other Disney romances, but it feels weirder live-action than it does in a cartoon.)  I have my suspicions that the added sideplot about Jack being a naturally-gifted artist is to give him an avenue through which to elevate and be less her social inferior.  Also, her increased prominence in the story compared to Sarah in the film has the byproduct of sidelining Davey a bit, and we don’t get as much of his and Jack’s unlikely friendship.

The plotting gets a little sloppy for me in Act II.  While it’s not like the movie’s script is airtight or anything, it kind of bugs me that Jack wants to pull out of the strike after the big fight and Crutchie’s arrest at the end of Act I, gets encouraged into staying by Davey, Kate, and Les, wants to pull out again after confronting Pulitzer, and gets encouraged into staying by Kate.  I know Jack is dealing with some heavy, very big-deal stuff throughout the show, but it makes him seem a lot less committed to the cause when I don’t think that was the show’s intention.  Not to mention, it just feels repetitive for him to have two huge crises of faith and need two big pep talks in the same act.  If it were up to me, I would’ve put Crutchie’s arrest and the showdown with Pulitzer a lot closer together in the storyline, or else had Crutchie’s arrest make Jack more determined than ever to fight, only to be shaken by Pulitzer.  (Either way, I probably would’ve cut “Something to Believe In” and put “Watch What Happens (Reprise)” after the Pulitzer showdown; it’s a stronger number all around, it has a more triumphant air, and it focuses more on the strike instead of Jack and Kate’s romance.)

Finally, I appreciated the added scene of Jack’s negotiations with Pulitzer to end the strike.  Although it feels a bit noticeably inserted, it’s nice that they go a bit into the nuances of the strike’s resolution, which was a little more ambiguous than “we won!”  Sure, it’s not as clear-cut a victory, but it’s more accurate, and it shows Jack’s savviness in presenting his counteroffers and being willing to compromise to a certain extent.