NEWSIES to Sell Papes in London?

Harvey Fierstein is on a UK kick these days. According to the Daily Mail, the book writer and actor said that NEWSIES, which is currently touring the United States, will arrive in the West End "in the next couple of years," once the right theater is available.

KINKY BOOTS, which Fierstein wrote with Cyndi Lauper, will open at the Adelphi in August, and his play CASA VALENTINA, which ran on Broadway last year, will have its London fringe debut this fall.

NEWSIES originally premiered on Broadway at The Nederlander Theatre in March 2012. The musical 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 was 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.

The stage version introduces seven brand-new songs by the original team of Menken and Feldman while keeping many of the beloved songs from the film, including 'Carrying the Banner,' 'Seize the Day,' 'King of New York' and 'Santa Fe.' Since the film's 1992 theatrical release and subsequent DVD release, NEWSIES has grown into a cult phenomenon, and for years had been the single most requested title of all the Disney musical films not yet adapted for the stage.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride