Newsies
Originally published on social media on April 19th, 2022
Newsies is just one of the best musicals ever made, combining true history with music in such a way that is irresistible.
Speaking of irresistible, Christian Bale is a surprisingly great singer. Everything about this film is brilliant from the acting to set design to musical composition.
There are plenty of musicals that discuss history, but I think this is one of the most approachable that can inspire anyone.
Not enough stories are shared about youth and young adults who have made a difference in this world. I’m so grateful for companies like Disney that aim to share these stories with the public.
I hope everyone watches it on Disney +, and if I can’t convince you to watch this film, maybe these facts will.
Fun facts from IMDB:
- Although many newspaper moguls of the time hosted Christmas dinners and other holiday events for their newsboys, after the Newsboys strike, Joseph Pulitzer even went as far as to host weekend events in vaudeville houses, the period equivalent of "Kids' night at the movies".
- The film was originally released on April 10, 1992, which would have been Joseph Pulitzer's 145th birthday.
- The dress that Ele Keats (Sarah Jacobs) wears in the "High Times, Hard Times" number is an authentic 1899 dress. After every take, the costumer had to constantly sew up small holes because the dress was so old and delicate.
Here are facts from this article:
https://www.moviefone.com/.../08/newsies-disney-trivia/amp/
- One visitor to the "Newsies" set was Gene Kelly. Kelly’s last musical had been 1980's "Xanadu," on which he served as a mentor to then-newbie choreographer Ortega. Visiting the "Newsies" cast's dance training sessions, he reportedly complimented the kids on their progress.
- Ortega put Bale and the rest of the cast through two months of musical boot camp, where they spent hours each day learning singing, dancing, gymnastics, martial arts, and speaking in New York dialects, on top of their regular schooling. "I don't know what kind of dance you would call the 'Newsies' training," the Method-loving Bale recalled later, "but we got very fit, jumped around a lot, and I got very dizzy."