Newsies "Watch What Happens" Sondheim-esque?

I had the fun pleasure of seeing Newsies on Saturday night. And, I can't stop going on and on about how much I loved the show, the choreography (if this doesn't win a Tony than I will eat my own hat.) The score (new and old) as well as the audience going crazy for the whole thing. It was really interesting to see how far people traveled just to New York to see this show because of their love for the movie.

In any case, when Kara Lindsay was singing Watch What Happens, the one thought that popped through my head was how this song sounds similar to things Sondheim writes. Now, I am not saying that Menkin is as good a composer as Sondheim is, he isn't. But, I think that maybe I felt that way because Watch What Happens has a somewhat similar cadence as Sondheim's songs? I don't know. But, I wanted to see of others thought the same thing.

---

I agree about "Fabulous, Baby." I also felt like it was reminiscent in some ways of Seussical, although I couldn't pinpoint exactly which song. Maybe "Oh, the Thinks You Can Think"?

It's a bit like Finishing the Hat, actually, in my opinion. Yes, the melodies are completely different, it's obviously written in a different style, etc. but the idea of conveying the creative process through song with quick turns of phrase and an almost stream of consciousness perspective is certainly Sondheim-esque.

It's actually my favorite new song in the score!

---

Updated On: 4/2/12 at 11:10 PM

Elton John wrote the Billy Elliot score. It was written in 2005. Even if there are similarities between "The Stars Look Down" and "The World Will Know," Newsies predates Billy Elliot by a lot. "The World Will Know" was featured in the film, which was released in 1992. I don't really hear the similarities but maybe you could be more specific.

I do see some similarities between "Home" and "Santa Fe," both of which were composed by Menken. Beauty and the Beast (the musical) came out a few years after the Newsies movie. If Menken used similar melodies, which he may have, but quite frankly they aren't that similar (maybe someone with a more tuned ear can take a listen) he's far from the first composer to do so. I'm looking at you, Sir Lloyd Webber.

---

And I'm not trying to imply that I think Menken was plagiarizing or anything, I certainly have neither the proof nor the expertise to claim that, but I thought it was interesting what associations my mind made. Which are essentially only based on trying to remember the tunes after a single listen and then I think "wait, that's not right, what am I actually humming?"

Updated On: 4/2/12 at 11:42 PM