Former NEWSIES Star Christian Bale Commends Broadway Cast

In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES star Christian Bale chatted about a previous gig- starring in the original movie version of Newsies back in 1992. Bale said of the new Broadway show: "They’re having the success our movie never had. I’m not really into musicals. But I wish them the best."

The former 'Jack Kelly' added on the new cast: "I’m sure the person playing the character I played exceeded whatever I did, and congratulations to them."

The Broadway company of Newsies features Jeremy Jordan as Jack Kelly, John Dossett as Joseph Pulitzer, Kara Lindsay as Katherine Plumber, Capathia Jenkins as Medda Larkin, Ben Fankhauser as Davey, Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Crutchie, Lewis Grosso and Matthew Schechter alternating the role of Les, and Garett Hawe as Albert.

Newsies features a Tony Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, with a book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, Newsies is directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award for his work.

Set in New York City at the turn of the century, Newsies is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged ‘newsies,’ who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies newsies from across the city to strike for what’s right.

Newsies is inspired by the real-life ‘Newsboy Strike of 1899,’ when newsboy Kid Blink led a band of orphan and runaway newsies on a two-week-long action against Pulitzer, Hearst and other powerful newspaper publishers.