"Newsies is at its most exhilarating, though, when the focus shifts from individual characters to the ensemble. Production numbers such as Carrying the Banner, Seize the Day and King of New York are buoyed by stick-in-your-head melodies and Christopher Gattelli's dazzlingly athletic choreography.
It's not revolutionary stuff, to be sure. But if Newsies doesn't make today's or yesterday's problems seem any less daunting, at least you'll forget about them for a few hours."
"Since our subject today is newspapers and the people who hawk them, I’m going to ask you to try to imagine a special kind of supertabloid. It would consist of nothing but headlines, all set in extra-large type, all goal-posted with exclamation points and all proclaiming essentially the same thing.
Now imagine that tabloid set to music, and you’ve got 'Newsies the Musical,' which opened on Thursday night at the Nederlander Theater. This Disney Theatrical Productions adaptation of the 1992 Disney movie musical — itself inspired by the New York newsboy strike of 1899 — is made up largely of numbers that feel like blazing banner headlines. And if none of them quite match the immortal panache of the New York Post classic 'Headless Body in Topless Bar,' you have to give their creators points for consistency..."
Wowza Brantley ! i didn't know you were that astute when it comes to dance !!!!
"But that doesn’t stop them from burning energy like toddlers on a sugar high at a birthday party. As choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, they keep coming at us in full-speed-ahead phalanxes, fortified by every step in a Broadway-by-the-numbers dance book. There are back flips, cartwheels, somersaults and kick lines galore, not to mention enough pirouettes to fill a whole season of “Swan Lake.”
Though there is little originality in these dance numbers, they have enough raw vitality to command the attention and even stir the blood. Or they would if they knew when to quit. But just when you think a number is over, it starts up again, and no sooner are you recovering from that one, then there’s another one, with all the same darn back flips, pirouettes, etc. I commend the cast members for always appearing to be excited by what they’re doing. Unfortunately, that is not the same as being exciting."
Brantley's review was mixed to negative, but considering 95% of the other reviews that have come out are all very positive, I'm not sure how that'll balance out now. I realize the Time is THE review, but outside of talkinbroadway, it's the only one with a negative light on it.
Ouch, Brantley...I knew there had to be a reason why he was waiting til after curtain call, it was either going to be a rave or a pan. The rest of the reviews appear to be favorable enough. I do think they will do well enough and play for a while to recoup. BEAUTY didn't get good reviews or any Tony's and it ran for over 10 years. At least he wrote that love-letter to Kara Lindsay.
While I agree with what Brantley was getting at, I think his review is a little unfair. I agree that the show is really just big dance number after big dance number, strung together with the intention to make the audience explode. And the dancing is VERY good, which he says. But it does get a tad tedious after a while. And the book isn't very good, which makes it that much more noticeable.
That being said, the show is SUPPOSED to be a big crowd pleaser. It's a family friendly show. The "EXTRA EXTRA" heightened emotion that he criticizes is essentially inherent in the genre of the piece. I don't think it's fair to criticize that. I'm glad that he had nice things to say about Kara and her song. It's easily my favorite of the new songs in the show (if not all the songs).
I'm usually the first person to take issue with a Disney musical, but this was charming and enjoyable. Brantley wouldn't know charming and enjoyable from his rear though.
I wouldn't count Newsies out of the best musical race but the fact that Once got raves and the fact that it looks like it's turning into a hit could hurt Newsies chances a lot.
"With that NY Times review, I'd say it's pretty much a done deal that ONCE will easily win the Best Musical Tony.
I think you credit Brantley with more power than he actually has ..... his all-out rave for FELA didn't help that show win the Best Musical award. NEWSIES has a much better chance of being a money-maker on the road than ONCE has, and that often comes into play when it's voting time.
Aside from the Brantley review, most of the reviews are pretty positive which is a step up from the last few Disney shows aside from Mary Poppins, not that it matters as the show is going to run for a while.
As for the Tony for Best New Musical, I think it'll be close but from a touring theatre POV, Newsies would be a surefire bet whereas Once would struggle, I'm happy if either show wins.
Based on most of these reviews, plus how well the show is selling, Disney needs to make this an open-ended run. They'd be foolish to close it in August. Newsies seems like it'll be Disney's first hit since Mary Poppins(which opened 6 years ago).
And since Once got slightly better reviews(including a near rave from the NY Times), I would hope it(Once) wins Best Musical.
'So it's an ANNIE for tweenage boys. But do tweenage boys flock to the theatre? Reidel was right about Brantley putting a damper on the excitement.'
It's more likely tweenage girls will flock to Newsies and TBH Disney caters to that market extremely well. It'll become an open run no doubt about it, I wouldn't be surprised if it recoups its investment by the end of the year.
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joined:3/10/11
Posted: 3/29/12 at 09:52pm