Top Five Songs: Newsies (Stage Version)

One more Newsies post.  The songs have been rattling around in my head since seeing the filmed recording of the stage show, so I thought I might as well figure out which ones I like best.

“Carrying the Banner” – To a point, I understand the reasoning behind opening the show on a prelude to “Santa Fe” from a storytelling perspective.  But for music, scope, and entertainment value, “Carrying the Banner” is a real opener.  Bursting with exuberance, Jack and the ensemble command our attention from start to finish, and the infectious melody is a formidable earworm.

Best lyric:  “It’s a crooked game we’re playin’, / One we’ll never lose, / Long as suckers don’t mind payin’ / Just to get bad news.”

“Watch What Happens” – I love this song written for the stage show.  The verses paint an amusing picture of Kate, who’s fierce, determined, and socially conscious but also overwhelmed and insecure.  Throughout the song, these two sides of her jockey for control, and she ends vowing to keep the former in the driver’s seat.  The melody on the chorus is soaring and beautiful, with uplifting lyrics that make this song yet another of the show’s many great anthems.

Best lyric:  “All I know is nothing happens if you just give in. / It can’t be any worse than how it’s been. / And it just so happens that we just might win, / So whatever happens, let’s begin!”

“Seize the Day” – I debated between this one and “The World Will Know.”  I loved both in the movie, and the added lyrics for the stage show have made them even better.  In the end, I went with this one.  While it’s led by Davey and, to a lesser extent, Jack, it’s also a really nice full number for the ensemble, an anthem of solidarity and action in the face of opportunistic injustice.  (And I’m not gonna lie, the dancing in the filmed recording doesn’t hurt one bit!)

Best lyric:  “Once we’ve begun, / If we stand as one, / Someday becomes somehow / And a prayer becomes a vow.”

“Santa Fe” – As I’ve said, the filmed recording brought me around to this version of the song, a desperate number where Jack is at the end of his rope and clinging to escape, but I do still the love the more standard “I want” song from the movie.  Either way, the melody is lovely and I like the wistful lyrics, that longing for someplace else because it isn’t where you are.

Best lyric:  “If the life don’t seem to suit you, how about a change of scene? / Far from the lousy headlines and the deadlines in between…”

“Brooklyn’s Here” – Such a fun number!  Brimming with energy and swagger, the Brooklyn newsies roll onto the scene with aplomb in this insanely-catchy song.  The ensemble harmonizes fantastically, and more than anything, the song creates the perfect mood – as soon as they start to sing, you get a burst of how the newsies feel, like things will finally start looking up.

Best lyric:  “That’s our cue, boys, it’s time to go slummin’. / Hey, Manhattan, the cavalry’s comin’!”