Playbill streams Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical August 21. Part of the Playbill Playback series, the 7 PM ET stream benefits The Actors Fund. Watch a trailer from the original theatrical release of the musical above. It will be available until 3 AM ET August 22.
The free stream, presented in arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions and Disney+, is available for viewing for one night only on Playbill.com/playbillplayback/newsies. The event also includes appearances by Newsies cast members and concludes with a new video, featuring cast members from the Broadway and North American tour productions of the Disney hit.
Captured live at The Hollywood Pantages Theatre in 2016, Newsies stars Jeremy Jordan, reprising his Tony-nominated performance as Jack Kelly, Kara Lindsay as Katherine, Ben Fankhauser as Davey, and Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Crutchie, with Newsies North American tour stars Steve Blanchard as Joseph Pulitzer, Aisha de Haas as Medda Larkin, and Ethan Steiner as Les.
Newsies has a Tony-winning score with music by eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, a book by four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, and is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions. The production features direction by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreography by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award for his work on the show. The entire creative team reunited to bring the musical to audiences across North America.
Newsies was 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 Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, and other powerful newspaper publishers.
Newsies originated as a Disney movie musical in 1992. The stage version introduced seven new songs by the original team of Menken and Feldman, including a song written specifically for the tour, “Letter from the Refuge,” while keeping many of the songs from the 1992 film, including “Carrying the Banner,” “Seize the Day,” “King of New York,” and “Santa Fe.”
The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. Since March 18 The Actors Fund has provided more than $14 million in emergency financial assistance to over 12,000 people who work in performing arts and entertainment. Visit ActorsFund.org.
Newsies The Broadway Musical and other musical favorites are now streaming on Disney+. Disney Theatrical Productions is proud to partner with Playbill for the Newsies watch party, which is part of Disney Magic Moments. #DisneyMagicMoments lets you experience the magic of Disney wherever you may be. Enjoy Disney, Star Wars, Marvel and National Geographic with stories, video, activities and interactive fun designed to inspire imagination and discovery among kids, fans and families alike. It’s all waiting for you at DisneyMagicMoments.com.
