Newsies: The Broadway Musical

I have been a Newsies fan since the beginning. I know the songs word for word. I also am a fan of the broadway musical, and I know they have to adapt it to the stage but there are to many deviations for me. Like the family story line and the change of Denton's character to Katherine's. Then still singing King of New York. Song in different spots in the plot, songs having a slower temple then the movie, and the end result of the strike all together. I am generally a person who says if it isn't broken don't fix it. But I am still impressed with the musical. I will still watch both and complain about the difference and annoy my husband the whole time. Lol.

Beautifully performed LA version of the Broadway musical. The actors, singers, dancers all on the top of their form. And the translating of the show to TV was excellent - until it came to the dance numbers. In short, these were ruined in the editing room. Just because you can cut to another shot, doesn't mean that you should. Fred Astaire had control over how his dances were filmed and insisted in full head-to-toe shots, with little or no cutting to different angles. This might seem like an austere approach, but it worked brilliantly. Gene Kelly went a step further and also produced brilliant results. It is difficult as a director to reign in the impulse to be flashy and put your mark on what you are shooting, but with dance this has to be resisted. Rob Marshall almost ruined Bob Fosse's brilliant choreography in the movie version of "Chicago". Here we have some of the world's best stage dancers giving it their all, and the director and editor got in their way. What a shame.

Fortunately, the great performances, singing, and the opportunity for close-ups of the actors make this recording of the stage production of NEWSIES well worth seeing. I feared, however, that they would not know how to film the dance numbers, and I was correct. Too many quick cuts, too many close-ups of only a few of the dancers, detract greatly from the dance numbers. While the camera adds some good rear and overhead shots of the dancers that you can't get in a live performance, these too go by in a flash. The dancers have great technique and energy all on their own. The camera doesn't need to add any movement or energy to the proceedings, like it does when you are trying to cover for poor dancers. These folks are great, but the camera-work doesn't allow us to see them for more than a fraction of a second at a time. If the director wanted to see how Broadway dances should be photographed, all he need do is look at any Tony Awards broadcast--mainly longer shots, with a few angle shots thrown in, and close-ups only when a particular step or piece of business needs to be highlighted. But directors and editors would rather show off than respect the dance.

I am one that enjoys Broadway shows and to combine both the Broadway & North American Tour together to make this show was Amazing. I hope they make this into a DVD like they did with CATS. The stage show personal touch versus a cinematic approach makes the show 1000x times better and easier to relate to the characters.

10/6/17. A good production for the silver screen. As much as I would have loved to have seen this on Broadway, watching it this way actually was pretty good. You could never get the close-ups like you do with this film in the theater, not to mention the prohibitive pricing of Broadway shows.