Disney's NEWSIES On Broadway -- Previews — Page 4

I mean both 9 to 5 and Crybaby had very effusive previews audiences who were very vocal and ecstatic but both shows flopped due to the realization that that material overall was subpar.

I think Newsies has two things going for it the others did not:

1) The Disney brand
2) Broader audience appeal

I also personally think it has a stronger score than the other two you mentioned. It's score was one of the reasons the film developed a cult following in the first place.

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Saw the show Monday night and was disappointed. There is no emotional involvement in any of the characters and the new songs range from dull to awful. The music is generally poorly produced and the orchestra sounds thin. The boys are all quite wonderful and Jeremy Jordan is superb. The dance numbers are fun but all seem the same. As others have mentioned, the audience goes wild right from the top of the show but as the evening went on I became aware that the loudest reactions came from the back of the house while people down front were merely polite in their response. I went in hoping for Oliver! but this isn't even close. It's a competent regional theatre production, nothing more, nothing less.

newintown- I think that's absolutely the case. Just Saturday one of the complaints I heard at intermission was that the dancing was 'too Broadway' in the show. The man was saying how it looked like kids dancing in the street in the movie, but here it was too precise. They were also peeved at the lyric changes in 'Seize the Day,' and when the original lyrics are merely the repetition of 'Neighbor to neighbor/Father to son/One for all/And all for one' (far from Sondheim) over and over again, I think either a lot of people have very bad taste in what's considered quality, or else there's a love for the ridiculousness that was the mistakes in the film.

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Newsies founds it audience through video and TV, I'm sure Disney Channel has replayed it many films before or after successful TV films like High School Musical and Camp Rock.

newintown, I disagree that the object has to be, by some highly subjective defintion -- as any such definition would be -- quirky or unusual, though I would agree that much of the art that has garnered cult followings would fit such definitions.

Matt's assessment, I think, is more accurate -- an ardent, niche-ish devotition to something, specifically after mainstream popularity has passed it by.


EDIT: devotition. I'm keeping it.

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Updated On: 3/20/12 at 02:23 PM

I saw the first preview of Newsies last week and I totally loved it, and I pride myself in the fact that I have pretty good taste in theater. Newsies might have been a sub-par movie but the broadway musical is anything but "low quality". The choreography was incredibly difficult and every single boy on that stage nailed it, there was not one weak link. The staging worked well with the set and the direction was great.I actually was impressed with how emotionally connected all of the actors were throughout the show, especially Jeremy Jordan who brought a deeper level to the character of Jack Kelly in the prologue and Santa Fe. I've honestly never seen it done with such energy and passion before, so kudos to him for that. Other standouts in the cast were Kara Lindsay and Ben Fankhauser, each of these broadway newbies really impressed me. While I love the original Denton character (and especially Bill Pullman), Lindsay made me believe in Katherine and her addition to the show. I really wanted to not like her but I ended up loving her (especially in "Watch What Happens". Everyone should really see this show, regardless of anyone's opinion it is a must see for this season.

I could be more clear, true - "cult" following, like "camp" (in its original use, not a bastardized Entertainment-Weekly marketing speak sort of way), implies a certain (self-defined) additional layer of perception among the "cult" - they recognize a value in the work that is hidden to "philistines."

Thus, by that definition, the work has to be something that is misunderstood by the masses, who aren't aesthetically equipped to "get it" (not simply dismissed as low-quality bland commercial fare, like the film "Newsies," or a comparable... say, any Hugh Jackman romantic comedy).

Thus, by that definition, the work has to be something that is misunderstood by the masses, who aren't aesthetically equipped to "get it"...

But only as defined by the "cult" in your first paragraph and the opinions aren't always so lofty (as with the so-bad-it's-good subjects like Showgirls). There is a lot of stuff I consider garbage that has a cult following, but my opinion of the subject doesn't negate the existence of its cult following. Maybe you don't think Newsies is worthy of a cult following, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have one.

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Updated On: 3/20/12 at 03:17 PM

This one may be even better.
More on "Cult"

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

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I don't like any of those three movies I listed. But I definitely know people who do. And if you asked them, they wouldn't say it was because they were quirky or subversive. They'd say they thought they were actually good. Newsies is the same for many.

Further, there are novies that I do love on those lists (Blade Runner, This Is Spinal Tap) that I find legitimately great. No camp value in my books.

Clearly it's all too subjective to be agreed upon, except within each individual cult.