98 Fun Facts About Newsies

Who plays Jack 'Cowboy' Kelly in the 1992 Disney film?

Christian Bale led the film as strike leader Jack Kelly; it flopped with critics and at the box office, then won a devoted audience on home video, which led Disney to adapt it for the stage.

Which choreographer made his feature directing debut with Newsies in 1992?

Kenny Ortega, who choreographed Dirty Dancing, made his directing debut with Newsies; it flopped, yet he went on to direct Hocus Pocus and the High School Musical films.

Who composed the songs for the 1992 film Newsies?

Alan Menken wrote the music; the film flopped, but two decades later his reworked stage score won the Tony Award, shared with his lyricist.

Who wrote the lyrics for the songs in the 1992 film Newsies?

Jack Feldman wrote the film's lyrics, then returned two decades later to rework them for Broadway, where he shared the 2012 Tony Award for the score with the composer.

Which Oscar-winning actor plays publisher Joseph Pulitzer in the 1992 film Newsies?

Robert Duvall, a Best Actor winner for Tender Mercies, played Pulitzer as the film's villain; the role brought him a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Supporting Actor.

Which screen legend plays the Bowery performer Medda Larkson?

Ann-Margret played Medda Larkson, the Bowery star who lends her theatre for the newsies' rally; her two film songs were both dropped when the story moved to the stage.

Which actor plays Bryan Denton, the newspaper reporter who champions the strike?

Bill Pullman played Bryan Denton, whose front-page story makes the strikers famous; when he is reassigned as a war correspondent, the boys lose their voice in the press.

When the warden testifies against Jack in court, what is revealed to be Jack's real name?

Francis Sullivan is the name the warden's testimony pins on 'Jack Kelly', along with a dead mother and a father in prison, puncturing the cowboy persona Jack had built.

Jack dreams of leaving New York for which Western city?

Santa Fe is Jack's dream of a fresh start out West; at the film's end he sets off for the train yards to go there, then turns back to stay with the newsies.

Which song do the newsies sing as they form a union and declare their strike?

'The World Will Know' follows the news of the price rise: the boys form a union, call a strike and send word to newsies in the other boroughs.

What is the surname of the corrupt warden who runs the juvenile detention center?

Snyder, played by Kevin Tighe, pockets the money the city pays for the children's care; he ends the story in handcuffs after the newsies' exposé reaches the governor.

Who leads the Brooklyn newsies, and initially refuses to back the Manhattan strike?

Spot Conlon, played by Gabriel Damon, rules the Brooklyn newsies and sits out the first fight; when Brooklyn finally marches in, it turns the tide against the strikebreakers.

Which real-life Governor of New York arrives at the end to shut down the warden and thank Jack?

Governor Theodore Roosevelt arrives to thank Jack, and the carriage ride he offers talks Jack out of leaving for the West; Roosevelt became President two years after the 1899 strike.

Critic Leonard Maltin mocked the film with which nickname?

Maltin dubbed it 'Howard the Paperboy', likening it to the notorious flop Howard the Duck, and faulted its songs and cramped production numbers.

Which song from the 1992 film Newsies 'won' the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song?

'High Times, Hard Times' is the number Medda sings to cheer the newsies' rally just before police raid it; it took the Razzie for Worst Original Song, the film's only win from five nominations.

The New York street scenes in Newsies were shot on the backlot of which studio?

Universal Studios' New York Street set had burned down in 1990; Disney's Newsies was the first film shot on the rebuilt backlot, which doubled for 1899 Manhattan.

During production, cast members made a satirical horror short film. What was it called?

Its plot has a disgraced Don Knotts murdering the cast after being rejected for a comeback role.

The newsie Kid Blink is played by an actor sharing his name with which TV creator?

Trey Parker, not the South Park co-creator of the same name, plays Kid Blink; the real Kid Blink led the 1899 strike, but the film hands that job to the fictional Jack Kelly.

Jack Kelly was inspired by Kid Blink and which other real newsie from the 1899 strike?

A memo from Pulitzer's business manager named him as the boy who actually started the strike in New York City.

In the 1992 film, what do the newsies call the paper they print on Pulitzer's old press?

The Newsie Banner, printed on an old press of Pulitzer's, carries the strike to the city's child laborers; a copy reaches the governor and exposes the warden's abuses.

Which actor plays the newcomer who becomes the brains of Jack's strike in the 1992 film Newsies?

David Moscow, the boy who turns into Tom Hanks in Big, played Davey; it is Davey who rallies the dejected newsies before they storm the distribution center.

Who plays the newsie 'Racetrack' Higgins in the 1992 film Newsies?

Max Casella, a regular on TV's Doogie Howser, M.D., played Racetrack and speaks the film's prologue; the real 'Racetrack' Higgins was a union leader in the 1899 strike, not a sidekick.

Before Broadway, the stage musical Newsies premiered in 2011 at which regional theatre?

The Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, staged the 2011 tryout; audiences and critics liked it so much that Disney moved the show to Broadway the following spring.

Which Broadway theatre was home to Newsies from 2012 to 2014?

The Nederlander Theatre on West 41st Street housed Newsies from March 2012; booked as a limited engagement, the show went open-ended by popular demand and stayed until August 2014.

Who wrote the book (script) for the stage musical Newsies?

Harvey Fierstein, of Torch Song Trilogy fame, rewrote the story for the stage, folding the film's reporter and love interest into one new character, Katherine; it earned him a Tony nomination.

Who originated the role of Jack Kelly on Broadway?

Jeremy Jordan created Jack on Broadway and earned a Tony nomination for it; four years after leaving, he came back to play the part again for the filmed stage production.

Which newcomer took over as Jack Kelly on Broadway in September 2012?

Corey Cott had graduated from Carnegie Mellon only weeks before joining the show as the Jack alternate; he took the role full time on September 5, 2012.

How many Tony Award nominations did the Broadway production receive?

Newsies earned eight Tony nominations in 2012 and won two, for Best Original Score and Best Choreography, losing Best Musical to Once.

Who won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Choreography for Newsies?

Christopher Gattelli won the 2012 Tony for Best Choreography with dances that turn a strike into athletics: his newsboys make their case in backflips, airborne spins and a clattering tap number.

In the musical, who is reporter Katherine Plumber revealed to be?

Pulitzer's daughter has been writing as 'Plumber', a pen name; Pulitzer springs the secret on Jack in his office while pressing him to call off the strike.

Broadway's first Katherine Plumber in Newsies based the role on which real journalist?

Nellie Bly was the model Broadway's first Katherine chose for the part: Bly had herself committed to a New York asylum to expose its abuses for the World.

Which character is Jack's love interest in the 1992 film Newsies?

Sarah Jacobs, Davey's sister, was Jack's love interest in the film, played by Ele Keats; the stage show folded her and reporter Bryan Denton into Katherine Plumber.

Disney first developed the stage version of Newsies for what purpose, with no plan for Broadway?

Licensing to other theatres was the plan: schools and regional companies kept asking for the title, and only the 2011 tryout's warm reception sent it to Broadway instead.

Which Disney musical disappointed on Broadway alongside Tarzan before Newsies?

The Little Mermaid and Tarzan had both disappointed at the box office; Newsies, first put on sale for just three months, went on to run for more than two years.

The filmed stage version of Newsies was shot in 2016 at which Los Angeles venue?

The Pantages in Hollywood hosted the shoot in September 2016: the touring cast, joined by returning Broadway leads, played to an invited audience while the cameras rolled.

The filmed Newsies stage production first streamed on which service before Disney+?

Netflix took the filmed show in 2017, after a cinema release so popular that an extra screening had to be added; it reached Disney's own streaming service only later.

The 2022 London production of Newsies was staged in the round at which venue?

Troubadour Wembley Park hosted the UK premiere from late 2022; director-choreographer Matt Cole put the audience inside the action, with newsies dancing around them and flying overhead.

What was distinctive about how the London production cast the Brooklyn newsies?

They were all played by women, their leader included; the real 1899 strike had women in it too, among them Annie Kelly, who spoke at the newsboys' great rally.

Which Jack and Katherine duet was newly written for the Broadway transfer of Newsies?

'Something to Believe In' has Jack and Katherine admit their feelings before they set to work on the old printing press; it was one of three songs written for Broadway after the tryout.

Who originated the role of Crutchie on Broadway?

Andrew Keenan-Bolger created Crutchie, Jack's best friend, and left after a year on Broadway to rehearse Tuck Everlasting; he came back to the role for the 2016 filmed production.

Which character did future star Mike Faist play in the original Broadway cast of Newsies?

Morris Delancey is a goon on Pulitzer's payroll: when the newsies' protest is broken up by force, Mike Faist's character and his brother take down Crutchie.

Which song opens Act Two of the stage musical Newsies?

'King of New York' opens Act Two: the battered newsies learn that Katherine's story has made the front page, and their gloom turns into a celebration of sudden fame.

In the stage musical Newsies, Medda's two songs from the film were replaced by which single number?

'That's Rich' is what Medda is singing when Jack, hiding from the warden in her theatre, spots Katherine in the audience.

The 1899 strike targeted the newspapers of Joseph Pulitzer and which other publisher?

William Randolph Hearst's Evening Journal was targeted alongside Pulitzer's Evening World: the boys formed a union in City Hall Park and refused to sell either paper until the old price returned.

In 1898 publishers raised the newsboys' wholesale price from 50¢ to 60¢ for a bundle of how many papers?

100 papers cost a newsboy 60¢ after the rise; he sold them for a cent each, so the extra dime came straight out of a profit that had been half a cent a paper.

Which conflict boosted newspaper sales enough for publishers to raise prices on the newsboys?

The Spanish-American War of 1898 sent sales soaring, and the newsboys swallowed the higher wholesale price; when the war ended and sales sank, the price stayed, and the boys struck.

What was the most recognizable physical feature of strike leader Kid Blink?

An eye patch made the red-haired 18-year-old easy to pick out, and reporters made him the face of the strike, printing his rally speeches in thick New York dialect.

What was Kid Blink's real name?

When arrested during the strike he told police his name was Louis Ballat, which was likely a lie or a mishearing.

What prize was Kid Blink given for delivering the best speech at the strike's big July 24 rally?

Kid Blink was presented with a floral horseshoe for the rally's best speech; two days later, after he was seen in a new suit, rumors spread that the publishers had bribed him, and he stepped down.

Where was the strike's city-wide rally held on July 24, 1899?

New Irving Hall on Broome Street could not hold them all: thousands of newsboys blocked the street outside and cheered whenever applause carried through the open windows.

The 1899 strike ended with the price unchanged, but the publishers agreed to do what?

The publishers agreed to buy back any unsold papers, so boys stuck with extra copies no longer had to hawk them late into the night to avoid taking a loss.

Roughly how long did the real newsboys' strike last?

The strike lasted about two weeks in the summer of 1899; short as it was, it pushed both publishers to offer a compromise, and the boys then disbanded their union.

During the strike, the New York World's daily circulation fell from 360,000 to roughly what?

The World's daily sales fell from 360,000 to about 125,000 as the public sided with the boys and stopped buying the boycotted papers even where they were available.

On July 18, 1899, newsboys overturned a Journal delivery wagon in which neighborhood?

The first action came in Long Island City, Queens, where boys tipped over a Journal wagon; the next day the strike was declared in City Hall Park, and Manhattan and Brooklyn joined on July 20.

Union president David Simmons, aged 21, was also well known locally as an amateur what?

He had sold papers since he was a small boy, and his reading of the union's resolutions at the rally reportedly bored the crowd.

In the stage musical Newsies, what does Jack leave for Katherine to find at Medda's theatre?

A sketch of her is Jack's parting shot after Katherine brushes off his flirting; his drawings of a squalid detention home later reach the governor, who steps in on the newsies' side.

'Major Butts' Butler was arrested after telling World executives he would not break the strike for less than how much?

He had taken over the Upper Manhattan union after Kid Blink stepped down.

Which solo for Crutchie was added to Newsies for its national tour?

'Letter from the Refuge' has Crutchie write to Jack from detention, bearing no grudge and urging the newsies to look out for one another; Broadway audiences never heard it, as it arrived with the 2014 tour.

The teenage star who played Jack Kelly in the 1992 film Newsies later became which big-screen superhero?

Batman arrived 13 years after Newsies, when its former teenage lead was cast in Batman Begins for his balance of darkness and light.

The first-time director of the 1992 film Newsies later directed which hit Disney Channel original movie?

High School Musical came 14 years after Newsies flopped in cinemas, and its director had made the Halloween favourite Hocus Pocus in between.

The actor playing Davey in the 1992 film Newsies had been the child version of Tom Hanks in which film?

Big cast him as young Josh, the boy whose wish to be grown up turns him into Tom Hanks. Four years later he was singing his way through Newsies.

Joseph Pulitzer, the real publisher behind the Newsies villain, left a fortune in his will to which university?

Columbia turned his money down in 1892, then used his bequest to open a school for reporters in 1912 and to award the first Pulitzer Prizes in 1917.

Joseph Pulitzer, the publisher Newsies casts as its villain, ran a newspaper donation drive to finish which landmark?

The Statue of Liberty had no pedestal to stand on until his 1885 campaign, which promised to print every donor's name and raised over $100,000 in small gifts.

The circulation war between Joseph Pulitzer's World and its great rival, the backdrop to Newsies, inspired which term?

Yellow journalism took its name from the Yellow Kid, a comic-strip character who ran first in the World and then in the rival paper that hired his artist away.

Deborra-Lee Furness, who plays the mother of Davey in the 1992 film Newsies, later married which Australian actor?

Hugh Jackman met her in 1995 on the set of the Australian TV drama Correlli, three years after Newsies, and they married the following year.

The Broadway musical Newsies lost the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical to which show, itself adapted from a film?

Once, based on a 2007 film and built around its Oscar-winning song, won more Tonys than any other show that night. Newsies went home with two.

The actor who plays reporter Bryan Denton in the 1992 film Newsies later played a US President in which blockbuster?

Independence Day cast him as President Thomas J. Whitmore in 1996, four years after he sang with the newsboys as their champion in the press.

Which lyricist, the regular partner of the Newsies composer, was too ill to work on the 1992 film?

Howard Ashman, who wrote the words for The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, died in March 1991, so a new lyricist was brought in for Newsies.

In the 1992 film Newsies, reporter Bryan Denton puts the strikers on the front page of which newspaper?

The Sun was a real New York daily, and in the stage version it is where Katherine's story about the newsboys makes the front page.

In Newsies, what is the name of Davey's little brother, whose cuteness Jack Kelly uses to sell more papers?

Les is nine in the stage version, where Jack offers the brothers a partnership because a small boy can guilt customers into buying.

In the 1992 film Newsies, why do Davey and his little brother need to earn money selling papers?

Their father got hurt at his factory job and was let go, so unlike most of the newsboys the brothers go home each night to a family.

In the 1992 film Newsies, Bryan Denton is pulled off the strike story when his paper reassigns him as what?

A war correspondent is what his editors make him, which silences the newsboys' only friendly reporter just as their leader is locked up.

When Jack Kelly goes before a judge in the 1992 film Newsies, the court hears that his father is where?

In prison, the judge is told, while his mother is dead, which leaves the strike leader with no family but the other newsboys.

At the end of the 1992 film Newsies, Jack Kelly asks the Governor for a carriage ride to which place?

The train yards are as far as he gets: he means to leave for the West, but the Governor talks him into staying and he rides straight back.

In the 1992 film Newsies, Joseph Pulitzer blunts the strike by warning the city's other newspapers to do what?

Keep it out of print is the order, and it works: with no coverage the public barely notices, so the newsboys publish a paper of their own.

In the 1992 film Newsies, Joseph Pulitzer offers to wipe out Jack Kelly's sentence if Jack agrees to do what?

Sell papers again, on a salary, is the deal, and it comes with a threat: refuse, and the other newsboys are locked up too.

In the 1992 film Newsies, how does the corrupt warden of the boys' detention home line his own pockets?

Embezzling city funds is his racket: the city pays for each boy's care, and he takes the money while neglecting the boys.

At the end of the stage musical Newsies, Joseph Pulitzer offers Jack Kelly which job on his newspaper?

Political cartoonist is the offer, made after Jack's drawings of life in the boys' jail moved the Governor to shut it down.

In the stage musical Newsies, where do the bruised strikers gather the morning after police break up their protest?

Jacobi's Deli is where Katherine finds them and shows them her front-page story, which turns their gloom into a celebration.

In the stage musical Newsies, which solo does Katherine sing as she decides to cover the strike?

Watch What Happens was written new for the stage version, which gave the story a new character in the ambitious young reporter.

In the stage musical Newsies, what had Jack Kelly stolen, for the sake of the other boys, before his last arrest?

Food and clothing for the other boys is the crime the warden holds over Jack, whose first sentence had been for nothing worse than vagrancy.

Just before Newsies, the original Broadway Jack Kelly had starred in another new musical as which real-life outlaw?

Clyde Barrow was his role in Bonnie & Clyde, which opened on Broadway in December 2011 and closed within the month, three months before Newsies arrived.

Besides one for its dance numbers, the Broadway musical Newsies won its only other 2012 Tony Award in which category?

Best Original Score gave the show's composer his first Tony, a prize that later counted toward his full set of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

The original Broadway Jack Kelly left Newsies within months of opening night to join which TV series?

Smash, the NBC drama, cast him as Jimmy in its second season, and for a time he filmed episodes while still playing Jack on stage.

Which director staged Newsies at its 2011 premiere and on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination?

Jeff Calhoun later returned to co-direct the filmed version of the touring show, which reunited several of his original Broadway leads.

Who originated reporter Katherine Plumber in Newsies on Broadway and later played Glinda in Wicked?

Kara Lindsay created a part that did not exist in the 1992 film: Katherine merges its reporter and its love interest into one character.

Which future star of The White Lotus played Katherine in the 2010 workshop reading of the Newsies musical?

Meghann Fahy read the part at an early stage of the show's life, but she was not in the cast when it had its first full production the next year.

The real newsboys behind Newsies formally founded their union in 1899 at an outdoor meeting held where?

City Hall Park is where they named themselves the Newsboy Union and vowed to stay out until the old price for a bundle came back.

During the real 1899 strike behind Newsies, what made newsboys suspect their leader Kid Blink had taken a bribe?

His fancy new outfit fed the rumour, and though he denied selling out he stepped down as leader and was chased through the streets by angry strikers.

After leading the 1899 strike that inspired Newsies, the real Kid Blink later made his living running what?

A saloon was his last trade, after a spell driving a cart; he died of tuberculosis in 1913, aged only 32.

The real striker 'Racetrack' Higgins, namesake of a Newsies character, was a fixture at which New York track?

Sheepshead Bay shaped his patter: he led the Brooklyn newsboys' union in 1899 and worked horses into many of the remarks reporters quoted.

Joseph Pulitzer, the press baron Newsies sets its strikers against, was born and raised in which country?

Hungary was his birthplace; at 17, recruiters signed him up in Hamburg to fight for the Union, and he reached Boston speaking no English.

Before their big 1899 rally, the real newsboys behind Newsies were refused a police permit for what?

A parade was blocked twice: a later march of some 6,000 boys with a band was dropped too, and the failures dented faith in the strike's leaders.

Newsies was first pitched as a drama without songs; which studio boss had it reworked as a musical?

Jeffrey Katzenberg, then head of Disney's studio, ordered the change after the husband-and-wife screenwriters pitched a straight underdog drama drawn from history.

The married screenwriters of the 1992 film Newsies later shared writing credit on which Disney animated feature?

Tarzan followed in 1999, three years after the same couple helped write The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which reunited them with the Newsies composer.

The actor behind Racetrack in the 1992 film Newsies was at the time a regular on which TV series?

Doogie Howser, M.D. had him as Vinnie Delpino opposite Neil Patrick Harris from 1989 to 1993, so he made Newsies in the middle of the show's run.

Disney first staged Newsies in 2011 saying it had no eye on Broadway; what was the show being tested for?

Licensing to theatres, professional and amateur, was the stated goal, but enthusiastic reviews in New Jersey sent the show to Broadway within six months.

The star who plays theatre owner Medda in the 1992 film Newsies had co-starred with Elvis Presley in which musical?

Viva Las Vegas paired her with Elvis in 1964, a year after her turn as the teenager Kim in Bye Bye Birdie had made her a major star.