Musical Lyrical Lingo
We're Musical Lyrical Lingo!
Join Tim and Lj who delve deep into the wonderful world of musical theatre and more importantly the lessons they have learned from different musicals.
Join them as they explore some of the greatest musicals ever created, from the classics to the new and exciting shows that continue to teach us something new.
So whether you're a seasoned fan of the stage or a newcomer, this podcast is for you.
So sit back, relax and get ready to immerse yourself in the world of musical theatre.
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Musical Lyrical Lingo
Seizing the Day: Newsies
Step back in time to 1899 New York City where a band of scrappy young newspaper sellers took on publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst in a David-versus-Goliath battle that changed labor history. Our deep dive into "Newsies" uncovers the remarkable journey of this musical from box office failure to Broadway sensation.
Disney's stage adaptation of "Newsies" defied all expectations, transforming from a limited engagement into a 1,004-performance Broadway run that captivated audiences and critics alike. We explore how Alan Menken's stirring score and the show's spectacular choreography – featuring that iconic newspaper dance sequence – earned Tony Awards and created a passionate fanbase that waited a decade for the show to reach London's stages.
The real-life Newsboy Strike provides fascinating historical context, showing how children as young as six stood up against exploitation when publishers raised newspaper prices from 50 to 60 cents. Through songs like "Carrying the Banner" and "King of New York," we examine the colorful language of the era – from "papes" to "floozy" to secret "Pig Latin" slang that youngsters used to communicate without adults understanding.
London's 2023 immersive production at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre brought exciting innovations, including the introduction of female newsies that acknowledged historical reality while creating more performance opportunities. Though that production has closed, producers have teased "bye for now, but not forever" – leaving fans eagerly awaiting its return. Join us as we seize the day and celebrate this unlikely theatrical triumph that continues to inspire audiences worldwide.
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Hello and welcome to Musical Lyrical Lingo. We're your hosts.
Speaker 2:Tim and LJ. Today and every week we will be discussing musicals, but specifically what they taught us.
Speaker 1:What are we doing this week? I couldn't possibly. Oh, shut up See. Do you hear how she speaks to me? And that's only half of what I get behind the mic.
Speaker 2:What evs, what evs?
Speaker 1:What evs?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're so demanding.
Speaker 1:Me demanding Dear, you have no idea. You think this is demanding. Wait till I get going.
Speaker 2:You forget, I've known you since you were like four.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2:I know you.
Speaker 1:I've definitely mellowed with old age oh, definitely but you're still like what does that mean?
Speaker 2:you haven't mellowed as you've got older that's because I didn't need to mellow you needed to mellow, I needed to mellow.
Speaker 1:Did I wow, right, okay, yeah no, no, not really. Well, we'll just have to seize the day and talk about newsies then.
Speaker 2:I think we should do that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, before we do that, we'll do some theatre news. Yeah, do some theatre news. All right, well Hope Mill Theatre has announced that a special fundraising concert of Acorn Antiques, the musical, will play a one night in Shaftesbury Theatre in London on the 9th of November and, due to popular demand, a second night at Manchester Opera House on the 16th has also been planned.
Speaker 2:That's such a fun musical.
Speaker 1:I know and I would love to see that live, like I would love to see that. You know, like you've got your list of musicals that you've never seen. That's on my list because I love Victoria Woods and I love all of that. Like I think it would be right up my street so that's exciting. It's a shame it's just for like a wee all that work for a wee fundraising concert but that's what?
Speaker 2:well, it wasn't a fundraising concert, but you know, concerts are popular is it not a? Fundraising concert? No, no, no, no. What I'm about to say wasn't a fundraising concert, but you know, concerts are popular, is it not a fundraising concert?
Speaker 1:No, no, no, no what I'm about to say wasn't a fundraising concert.
Speaker 2:Oh, I've forgotten the name of the musical.
Speaker 1:Something Rotten. Thank you, I knew exactly what you were referring to.
Speaker 2:I was going to say shocked, and then I was like I wasn't shocked.
Speaker 1:No, I would love to see it too.
Speaker 2:I'm afraid it was hilarious.
Speaker 1:Is it over? No, yes, because Brigadooni's starting isn't it.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, it started as a concert and then it's coming to London.
Speaker 1:Something rotten yeah.
Speaker 2:The fact that they had to put on two nights maybe.
Speaker 1:You never know, it could come, it could come.
Speaker 2:And we all need a wee laugh nowadays don't we Flipping lutely?
Speaker 1:For sure we do. Something else is very exciting. It could almost have me across the water. Billy Porter, yes, has announced that he will be in an all-black production of La Cage a Folle. All black production of La Cage a Foll Next year, june the 17th to the 28th in New York City Center Brilliant, yeah. He'll be playing Albin. I like that will be wow. Like, after having seen him in cabaret, I'm going oh, my goodness, that will be wow. Like he will be unbelievable. Yeah, so that's exciting. I love La Cage's. Exciting. I love La Cage. Yes, I love La Cage too. And then another wee. I'm all over the new musicals at the moment.
Speaker 1:I love it, though, new musicals are great a new musical called the Little Dancer is going to be opening this month. So Little Dancer, a new musical in concert, is going to be receiving its UK premiere in the Theatre Royal Jury Lane on Sunday, the 27th of July. Oh yes, now it has a really good cast. So Tyler Peck, who is a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, will be playing a young Marie Van Gothen, and she's being joined by Julian Overden Love his voice. Laura Pit-Pilford as an adult Maria, and then also Debbie Krupp is also going to be in it. So it's based on the story of the young ballerina who posed for Edgar Degas sculpture. The piece was previously seen in the US, in Washington DC and Seattle.
Speaker 1:The musical is written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flackerdy, with direction and choreography by Susan Stroman, and I do love a bit of Susan Stroman going on. But that sounds interesting to me. Yeah, it certainly does so. The mystery behind the masterpiece is the tagline for the musical it does sound, does so? The mystery behind the masterpiece is the tagline for the musical it does sound great. So, as she said, at the moment it's a Sunday night musical and concert, but we'll see if it has legs. No pun intended, and it's about a ballet dancer. So there you go, little Dancer, the musical and concert Exciting, very exciting.
Speaker 2:We do love discovering new musicals. When coming up in the pod, we will be discussing a brand new musical.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That is for a different episode.
Speaker 1:That is for a different day, do?
Speaker 2:you know what I do love, Timothy.
Speaker 1:What do you love me? I know.
Speaker 2:Well, apart from you, I love putting on what I call normal channels or normal radio and something musical happening. It happened recently. I was listening to Radio 2. I'm a big Radio 2 fan, and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber was on.
Speaker 1:Talking about us.
Speaker 2:Of course, I just missed that part.
Speaker 1:He was on just talking musicals.
Speaker 2:Like just missed that part. He was on Just Talking Musicals on a breakfast show. I just love it whenever musicals enter the real world. Do you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:No, a thousand percent, and I do think they're becoming much more common culture. Is that the right thing? It's becoming more of a thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:They're more present.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, I think so, and I think obviously social media and stuff, yeah, I think so.
Speaker 1:And then you know you can say what you want, but you know, castings over the last couple of years have also, I think, played into that, the likes of Nicole Scherzinger, and there's Rachel Ziegler at the moment in Evita, I think that and she's now there's rumours about her appearing as Maria von Trapp in a Sound of Musical revival. But you know, I think when you've got people like that about, you know more. People are talking about musicals, aren't they?
Speaker 2:He was talking just about everything, a bit like how he'd written a couple of songs for Eurovision and how he didn't have a very good experience in Eurovision so would not write another song again.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:It was a very interesting conversation. He was also talking about Evita and talking about how Jimmy Lloyd has a vision and he was happy to just let him go with that vision.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And he was obviously talking about Rachel and how he paid homage to the original Olympia and how stunning she was, but he talked about Rachel's performance in the Rainbow High and that she's stunning, outstanding. So it's kind of me who wants a cast recording now so that I can hear it all.
Speaker 1:Do you think it'll happen? Well, sunset got one, didn't it eventually? Because for a while you were like are they going to do a cast recording of Sunset Boulevard?
Speaker 2:I mean, I think we mentioned it, like last week If the show was on for longer than six weeks, that's your stipulation. Producers, just do a cast recording.
Speaker 1:Really, yeah, because I suppose that's one thing that Broadway does do well, If we cast back to a couple of episodes ago where we were saying how the the system they have on. How you know, shows aren't given a huge amount of time to make a name for themselves, but this most new musicals that hit Broadway, even if it's for a very, very, very short amount of time, they all seem to have a cast recording done, don't they?
Speaker 2:And I remember Nathan said that to us whenever we were interviewing her.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Was that? That was one of her stipulations whenever she was putting on the first version of Millennials was that there needed to be a cast recording, because how are people going to hear the musical, hear the music?
Speaker 1:without it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, how are you going to hear all these new musicals if there's not? Yeah, you know, and you need time to listen and process it and try and understand what the story's about. Yeah, because not everybody gets to see musicals, because it's not all accessible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there we go, and then in Broadway, should they take them off?
Speaker 2:I know If they're not doing well enough. You a little bit about anything else, about. Well, apparently there's going to be a new version of. Phantom right, and he's currently working on two new musicals one which will be released pretty soon, yeah, and then one which apparently nobody will know like, as in will be flabbergasted, yeah.
Speaker 1:I would say the casting of that will flabbergast by the topic. Yeah, I would say the casting of that will flabbergast people as well, I wonder what it is. Well, I mean, I can't say right now, but you know yeah. I just wondered if he had name dropped me, but clearly not. Not yet he's keeping that under his hat.
Speaker 1:Not yet Speaking of hats are you showing wearing hats for this episode, yeah, or caps that I might get onto in one of my musical lyrical lingos, yeah. So let's talk about the best kept secret. Hold on till I open my new book. I've had to start a new book because I ran out of pages on the last book, because you write so much I take this podcast very seriously, I'll have you know.
Speaker 1:Newsies is a rising story of Jack Kelly, a 17-year-old newsboy in the 1890s New York City who leads his fellow Newsies in a fight for better wages against newspaper giants Politzer and Hearst. Stage musical is based on the 1992 Disney movie musical which starred Christian Bale as Jack Kelly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, music is by Louis Meehan.
Speaker 1:Your fave.
Speaker 2:And did you know that there's? I don't think Alan's actually going to be there, because I did actually have a weak heart attack when I first read it. There's a night with Alan Dublin, but it's not actually with Alan.
Speaker 1:So is it just a night of Alan Menken's music?
Speaker 2:Oh, it's like a one night only.
Speaker 1:Could you imagine if you got tickets to go and you thought you were going to see Alan Menken on his piano singing all his best hits? I don't know, If Alan didn't show up that would be, so you would be raging.
Speaker 2:I think I'd cry God bless you. I think I'd cry if it was actually Alan on the piano.
Speaker 1:However, depending on who's singing them, like that could be a brilliant night Because his music's so fantastic and so versatile as well.
Speaker 2:My youngest, as we discussed before, is obsessed with Little Shaw. Yeah, we've been moving some stuff about and the DVD fell out and I was like oh, there we discussed before is obsessed with little shop, yeah, and we've been moving some stuff about. And the dvd fell out and I was like, oh, there's your dvd of um. So it was on for six, six times um, because his dream role is the dentist. So he was oh bless okay, then he went upstairs and he got his t-shirt that you got him yeah and he was wearing that and as he was like practicing and he goes, I think I'm ready.
Speaker 2:If, if any anybody's gonna do it like pretty soon, I'll, I can know the words he would be a good dentist actually, so okay, you'd do that well but yeah, he's such a range of music, alan, but yeah, he's not going to be in dublin, much to my disappointment that's sad lyrics are by jack feldman and he did music for Oliver and Company, which is like the Disney film yeah songs for the new Snow White which starred Rachel, that we've just discussed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and the music in that remake is really good yeah, and music in Lion King 2 oh, okay which is where the song he Lives in you comes from which is one of my favourites, and obviously it's put into the musical yeah and then Harvey Fierstein wrote the book and again, I love.
Speaker 1:Harvey, yeah, and only this morning it just came. You know when you're scrolling on your phone and like just random videos, like pop up his acceptance speech for his Tony Lifetime Achievement came on this morning and I was listening to him, I watched that last night.
Speaker 2:It was brilliant. I love him. He's fantastic and also we know he did the book for the cash.
Speaker 1:That's right oh my goodness yeah. That's ridiculous.
Speaker 2:So strange and also his famous. One of his famous memorable moments is from Mrs Doubtfire, where he goes match me go match me, go, make me match. Yeah, which you know?
Speaker 1:And I remember seeing him in Broadway in Hairspray because he played Edna Turnblad. That's right, in Broadway in Hairspray because he played Edna Turnblad.
Speaker 2:That's right, yeah, and also he also sings Don't Tell Me Nothing. Well, sorry, Robin sings that in his scene. So we're always connecting our musicals together.
Speaker 1:Honestly, the 1992 movie musical was inspired by the Newsboy Strike of 1899. Now, the film was a flop.
Speaker 2:It was originally.
Speaker 1:Originally At the box office. So it was a flop at the box office, but it did achieve cult classic status on home video and became the most requested Disney musical at that time, not yet to have been adapted for the stage.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love whenever fans drive something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it should be the way it is. Do you know what I mean? So this demand inspired then the 2011 Paper Mill Playhouse production in New Jersey. Now, the musical was a success and after a sold-out run. And the musical was a success and after a sold out run, it transferred to the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway in March 2012 for what was to be a limited engagement. This ultimately led to it being played to packed audiences for two and a half years, after extension upon extension upon extension. Playing for 1,004 performances.
Speaker 1:It was a sleeper of a hit that many didn't see coming. However, it was nominated for eight Tonys and it did win two for Best Original Score Mr Alan Menken and Best Choreography, and if you've seen the show or you've seen a pro shot of the show, you will understand why the choreography is a big, big deal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, massive Went on a national tour from 2014 to 2016. Yeah, and the pro shot was 2017, if I'm correct. That's right yeah, so they did bring back the original cast which included Jeremy Jordan because he had to stop his original run because he was becoming more popular on Smash.
Speaker 1:There we go again with our links. Honestly, it's ridiculous. I think it's just because we are looking for them now.
Speaker 2:Maybe it is.
Speaker 1:Do you know what I mean? I don't know, yeah.
Speaker 2:It then took 10 years to come to London.
Speaker 1:But I do remember it was one of those shows that everybody was like when's it going to transfer? When's it going to come to London, when, when, when. Like it was like hotly anticipated, Like people waited for a long time, especially after that 2017 Pro Shot, because that was the first time I was introduced to Newsies. Like they showed it in cinemas as well over here, and I went. I remember going to see it and going, oh, oh, my goodness, what have I just seen? Like when is that coming to the West End? It's fab.
Speaker 2:The music is brilliant, the storyline it's fun it is. You know well, it wasn't a great story that happened.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The newsboys. But you know there's a story there that Jack Moudras. But it's the dance and it's just sensational.
Speaker 1:But I think that's why it works. It is a serious story and a serious plot, but it is presented in an energetic and a fun and lively way.
Speaker 2:So it opened at the TripAdore. It did, and again it once had no one.
Speaker 1:Olivier. So Matt Cole was the director and choreographer and he won an Olivier for choreography again.
Speaker 2:That's right. He did also win six Drama Desks, the Broadway, and it won the CM2 Best Choreographer. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And the London production opened on the 8th of March and it was exciting because there was a brand new Immersive in the round production. That's it. It was flying yeah, directed and choreographed, as I said, by Matt Cole, in this new, like Troubadour, wembley Park Theatre, which I've just seen Starlight Express in, and it is a unique venue. Like not everything will be able to go in there.
Speaker 1:Do you know what I mean. However, they're cleverly picking what productions go there. Do you know what I mean? I kick myself at NC Newsies, to be fair, whenever.
Speaker 2:Newsies closed. I remember people being like why is it? Closing. Why is it closing?
Speaker 1:Well, obviously we know that purchasers have plans like so many years in advance and obviously starlight was there in the works however, what I would say is when the product, when you, the london production of news is closed in july 2023. Uh, at the show it was teased for a return to the uk, as at the final performance, tristan Baker, one of the producers of Newsy, said that's it for Wembley, we'll see you next year. And then, on the show's website, it also says bye for now, but not for forever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there was rumours that it was going to go, because, isn't there a thing that Jury Lane is always a Disney? Okay, yeah, so there was rumours that it was going to go, because isn't there a thing that Jury Lane is always a Disney?
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:So there was rumours that it was going to go in after Frozen.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Hercules is currently in.
Speaker 1:However, hercules doesn't seem to be going very well, so it might not be in there for very long.
Speaker 2:But Hercules is only in until February, yeah, so it is a short run anyway, and I don't see it staying for a long time.
Speaker 1:So if you're wanting to go, you need to go.
Speaker 2:But then, because this version of Muses was so immersive, I don't think it could go into jury lane.
Speaker 1:It'll have to adapt, won't it? It wouldn't be around. You couldn't do it in the round again.
Speaker 2:And then people were talking. Maybe that means it's going to go on tour, but I'm not sure how, how it would tour I would have thought it would.
Speaker 1:If I was a producer, I'd be putting it into town first before I take it out into her like it's still got legs. Even if you have to adapt the the immersive in the round style, you would adapt it, wouldn't you Put it in town for a period and then, because it's already adapted, then it's easy enough to take out and put on the road, is what I would do, and we know that they listen to our podcast. Interestingly, the Broadway production cost $5 million to stage, but Newsies recouped its initial investment in seven months, becoming the fastest of any of the Disney musicals on Broadway to turn a profit. And that makes so much sense, doesn't it? Because when you think about Disney productions, they are so lavish and so massive and so expensive. It must be quite difficult to turn a profit on those shows.
Speaker 2:But then there's not a huge amount of costumes or sets.
Speaker 1:For newsies.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, or there's a lot of actors.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true, yeah.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of newspapers, but there's not the like beauty and the beast the massive like costumes or set pieces which need to be moved. So, probably out of all of them is the one that's going to make the profit.
Speaker 1:That's true and funny. You mention like large cast. I remember in the London production a lot was made on social media about the sheer amount of swings and the role that the swings had within that show and the injuries and the not out of any safekeeping issue, just it's a really physical show for those boys and and girls and girls yeah, yeah, yeah, um which was a new.
Speaker 1:Have you got some something on that later? Yeah, um, but I thought that's right, because they were really championed, weren't they? And they were put front and center and it was like, without these swings, yeah, this isn't happening folks, which I thought was really lovely, and a lot of if you're wanting to like newsies.
Speaker 2:A lot of the behind the scenes is all about the camaraderie is that the word of the boys either on Broadway or in West End all working together, and I think that's where a lot of fans love to see it, and that's where there was a lot of hype around the show too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it totally echoes the three events that inspired the show, that camaraderie, and that was my first musical lyrical lingo, in that I had no idea about this newsboy strike in 1980. No 1899.
Speaker 2:So you hadn't watched the 1990s film.
Speaker 1:No, I had never watched the film.
Speaker 2:Have you watched it since? No, no. Because there's some songs but not all of the songs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, that's it. So like for the For the stage production it featured seven new songs that weren't included in the original film, but yeah, so Newsies is based on this real life newsboy strike of 1899. Children who sold newspapers on the streets were called Newsies. So there was a lot of like, almost like a glossary of the. You know the phrases or the slang that they used. So the New York Newsies went up against the two newspaper publishers of the time, Joseph Plitzer of the World and William Randolph Hearst of the Journal. I love his name, William Randolph Hearst, Love that To fight for fair wages. The Spanish-American War had made New Yorkers hungry for fair wages. The spanish-american war had made new yorkers hungry for headlines at the time and circulation boomed as a result. Then, once the war ended, people were less inclined to buy the newspapers. War was bad for the world but was good for the newspaper business. So the strike, uh was a result of the newspaper publishers refusing to lower the prices. They actually put them up. I think it went from 50 cents to 60 cents.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was 50 cents to 60. It was, as you said, the real life and it would have been hiked up during the Spanish-American War because, people were buying more. They had the perfect opportunity to make more money. And then the newsboys felt that it was now too difficult to sell the papers without the excitement of war.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So that the price now needed to be dropped, and they refused to do that, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So they weren't willing to pay more for their papers to make up for the lack of the headlines, so they decided to strike. Their goal was to make the newspaper tycoons recognise them as legitimate members of the business and to treat them as such. The strike lasted two weeks, from July 19th to August 2nd 1899, and during that time the New York Newsies drew support from Newsies all over the northeast of America. Now the Newsies eventually did come to a compromise with the publishers. They would purchase their papers at the higher price, but the publishers would buy back any of the papers that the newsies couldn't sell, and this actually was much more valuable to the newsies rather than lowering the prices of the papers.
Speaker 1:The Newsboys strike is a significant moment in history, though, because it is one of the first strikes that was carried out by children and one of the first strikes that ended in compromise. You know the kids won. So I didn't know anything about the strikes. Obviously I hadn't watched the movie or any of that. I knew it was a real life, but I didn't know what the actual strike. I obviously hadn't watched the movie or any of that.
Speaker 2:I knew it was a real life, but I didn't know what the actual strike was. Now, obviously, the musical changes it slightly. That it's just they've just hiked up the price. There's not the background story of the war. Yeah, and also, jack Kelly isn't a real person, but he's based.
Speaker 2:He is, yeah, he's like a historical news boy leaders, and in the film um there is a focus on who was the, the main um leader, but he's not in the musical. Okay, there's that change. Yeah, I watched the film years ago, um, but haven't watched it recently. Um, obviously, the pro shot used to be on disney plus. It's not on disney anymore, but the film still is, if anybody's interested. There's a female journalist which I love. I love her character, and she's called Catherine Plummer.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Even though she is fictional, she is named after Ploetzer's daughter. He was called Catherine Ethel.
Speaker 1:Now she died in the story of the movie, yeah, but I thought that that was a nice little yeah, little nod, I suppose, to real life and in her number, watch what happens. Like a lot of her lines refer to the fact that she's a female reporter. So they she sings, so they say all I know is I don't know what to write or the right way to write, and that's like it was uncommon for women to have a writing job during that time and naturally people of the time would also have said that she wasn't doing the right thing because she was a female. And then she also sings about vaudeville I'm reviewing, and it wasn't common for women to work during the time, so naturally they had stuck katherine on writing reviews rather than actual stories or articles, and I thought that was quite interesting.
Speaker 2:And I like the fact that Catherine is a fiery character and she does a really good job of her role because, as we've mentioned, there were female news girls.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But the film and the musical exclude them until the London production where they decided that the it was one of the named characters, wasn't it?
Speaker 1:and then a group the whole gang, the Brooklyn crew so there was one named character that was cast as a girl, and then the Brooklyn crew were all girls, all female.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, and I think then from then it has now been because there's newsies junior yeah um, where a lot of the characters um can be played by either yeah, yeah it's great, yeah, absolutely it's great, but I love that. Actually a wee bit of change, but I recognise that there was news girls and just by changing that, girls can now be in what was predominantly a male show with one girl.
Speaker 1:And fun fact with regards to Catherine's number, watch what happens. She describes it as David and Goliath do or die. This like trouble between the publishers and the newsies, and actually papers covering the news of the Newsboy strikes in 1899, including the Sun newspaper really did compare it to David and Goliath, so I thought that was quite a nice nod to like the actual historical headlines.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like that. On this occasion, you know, the underdogs got a compromise yeah and especially because one of my musical ergo lingos was just kind of learning a little bit more about joseph plitzer and william randolph hearst and you kind of expect that they would have just gone. That's okay, we'll sell newspapers anyway. But yeah actually they did realize that these young homeless you know, boys were doing them a favor and they wouldn't have been able to to sell um as many as they did.
Speaker 2:So joseph was actually a hungarian american newspaper publisher and journalist, and he as we will know the name. He established the Pulitzer Prize. He owned and transformed the New York world into a leading newspaper. And then William Randolph Hearst he is one of those men that seem to have done everything a businessman, newspaper publisher and a politician. He was given control of the San Francisco Examiner in 1887 by his father, and then he transformed this paper with high profile writers such as Mark Twain.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:And then he got the New York Journal. But he is the one that we would thank now for the sensationalized headlines, which is what is called yellow journalism. Oh okay, for the sensationalized headlines, which is what was called yellow journalism. Oh okay, he was the one that started that like saying something, and then obviously it doesn't necessarily.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know well, my goodness, they're using that technique today more and more.
Speaker 1:I am sick of clickbait, yeah and nonsense headlines and then you click on the article and it doesn't even match. I'm like what are you playing at? Um, I went down a warren hole, a rabbit hole, a rabbit hole. I have no idea what I'm talking about. Uh, rabbit warren, into like the world of. What if I just said rabbit hole? Is that rabbit hole, rabbit warren, rabbit warren? What is a rabbit warren? Is a warren not like a home of? Is it Rabbit Hole? Rabbit Warren? Is it a Rabbit Warren? Warren's a Rabbit Warren? Is it Warren Not like a home of rabbits? Like down the hole is called the Warren.
Speaker 2:I can't think yet. I think, I just never heard that expression. I might be wrong.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I think I've got the expression wrong, but I think I've got the housing term correct, anyway, and he just snorted, oh my goodness, anyway. And he just snorted, oh my goodness. Uh. So the world of newsies. I learned a lot. So they in the show like reference and talk about the distribute distribution window. So that's like the location which newsies would purchase their papers. Uh, for the day, each newspaper publisher had their own distribution window, right? So then we also know that newsies, as I've said, were young newspaper vendors. Interestingly, some newsies were as young as six years old and worked long hours on the streets. They call papers papes. So they like throughout the show, they're like pape, p-a-p-e and that's just a slang term for newspaper. And then they also talk about scabs, and scabs were a slang term for individuals who took work when the regular employees were striking. So when the newsies were striking, some tried to work or get the job anyway, and they were called the scabs or scabbers.
Speaker 2:And that comes back in another musical which is about a strike.
Speaker 1:About a strike. Another music oh, that's Billy Elliot.
Speaker 2:Well done.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do they call them scabs though? Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:Maybe it's more in the film.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:But yeah, very good, there you go In the song Banner.
Speaker 1:Carrying the Banner.
Speaker 2:Carrying the Banner. Yeah, you can tell I'm in shorthand right now. Banner.
Speaker 1:Carrying the banner.
Speaker 2:folks, if you're wanting to listen to it at home, as you've already mentioned, there's a lot of the language is just there informal. Yeah, I like living champsy, which is just an informal way of saying, like champs, or risk, or uncertainty.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then I always thought this was like somebody's name, where it's like harlem to delancey no, there are places in america. I know it's like from harlem, which is upper yeah um new york to delancey, which is lower. Yeah, but just the way that it said. I thought it was like another publisher, arlen Delancey no, no, you're always learning.
Speaker 1:That's it they sing about Betcha Dinner is a doozy. About a pistol packing floozy. So pistol packing floozy that's hard to say is a girl who is attractive but armed with the gun. Floozy is a girl or woman, especially one of disreputable character. Um, yeah, they sing, they, they mention a couple of things. They say it takes a smile that spreads like butter. Yeah, um, and butter was like the stuff of heavens for them because they were poor and like they, they didn't have those lovely. Yeah, exactly. They also uh, say about it takes an orphan with a studda who's also blind and mute and dead.
Speaker 1:And I thought that was really clever lyrics because it these guys are referencing the fact that some of the best ways of selling something to someone is to make them pity you. So the Newsies loved using people's kindness against them, you know, by pretending to be injured. And if they were injured Like Crutchie, naturally they want. No, crutchie didn't, but naturally a lot of newsboys were known to want to stay that way. Yeah, because it meant they sold more newspapers. I also love the line how about a crooked politician? And then one of the newsies says you nitwit, that ain't news, no more, and just that I think I thought it was funny. It made me laugh that idea of the newsies telling Elmer this ain't new, because everyone knows how deranged politicians are. They are so common that you find a crooked politician. That is not interesting news anymore, I thought back in the interesting, interesting still nowadays I'm saying no more um.
Speaker 2:Have you got anything else?
Speaker 1:no, no, we've mentioned it before, but santa fe, like, obviously santa fe probably gets the bet the biggest name, check in musical theater, doesn't it? But it made me laugh because they sing about it grass is always greener, right. But then they also mention about a city made of clay. I didn't know that Santa Fe is like basically clay based and I thought I was like that's really hilarious. Like grass is greener, not necessarily. They also sing hey, no more worries about no gimp leg. And santa fe, now crutchy a character does is disabled. Um, but they say you just hop a palomino. Uh, you'll ride in style. Now, I didn't think of the time period or anything like that, but naturally, when I first heard palomino on the cast recording way back, I thought of a car. You know something fancy like a car and it's just actually a breed of horse that originates from Spain. Did you know? That's what a Palomino was? Okay, I don't feel so daft now. There you go, did you think it was a car.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I knew it was a car.
Speaker 1:Maybe like a wee train or a wee tram or something. Yeah Well, it's actually a Spanish breed of horse. So there you go.
Speaker 2:Lovely. There's obviously we've mentioned it's a big dancey show, so there's a lot of like dance freaks.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:A lot of the numbers are just music and one's called Fighting the Irish.
Speaker 2:Yeah, are just music and one's called Fighting the Irish and obviously we've kind of heard that term like forever, but really whenever Americans know of Fighting the Irish it's in connection to the Notre Dame football, which obviously is after this. But it was first coined for the Irish immigrant soldiers who fought for the Union during the Civil War and it just means that there's the coined for the Irish immigrant soldiers who fought for the Union during the Civil War and it just means that there's the spirit of the Irish.
Speaker 2:We're never completely knocked out, we're always there so like the Newsies, they're not going to be knocked out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:They've got the fighting spirit in them.
Speaker 1:So they took like strength from the Irish.
Speaker 2:So like it was really derogatory, like to be Irish, I'd say people used it like they didn't want Irish to hear them. So the fact that these people who were seen as probably low, you know, are going. No, we're gonna fight. We're gonna fight for our right to party.
Speaker 1:Don't mess with us folks, we fight us. The bottom line which Pulitzer is singing about he sings. Just a modest adjustment can fatten the bottom line, and that idea of bottom line actually refers to the final amount of money a business or a company has acquired from a certain transaction. So that's the bottom line. Did you know that? I? Can't run my own business oh, my goodness, of course you do, you see, that's why I don't yeah I would be terrible at running my own business I'm self-employed.
Speaker 2:I need to check my bottom line, oh my god like honestly bottom line.
Speaker 1:What does that mean?
Speaker 2:what else have you learned?
Speaker 1:that was me really yeah, oh my goodness, no, I've loads.
Speaker 2:I think you know a lot of this line which whenever I was going over it again I kind of had a new it or figured it out type thing, but no, there wasn't a huge amount more learning.
Speaker 1:Well in the world, we'll know they sing even though we ain't got hats or badges. I keep putting a wee Bronx like accent on. I love the way they sing and talk in this show.
Speaker 2:You're very, jeremy Jordan. There you're really Was.
Speaker 1:I, yeah, even though we ain't got hats or badges. Yeah, interestingly, and you mentioned at the beginning, we need to have our caps for this. It's quite funny this line, because obviously all of the newsies are wearing matching headwear, right, but of course, during that time there was a difference between hats and caps. They were very different things. So hats showed wealth and mostly worn by people of the upper class. However, all the Newsies, they wore their caps. Class. However, all the newsies, they wore their caps, typically worn by people of the lower class. And, interesting, today caps and hats have no difference in meaning anymore. Do you know what I mean? So I just thought that's really interesting that once upon a time there was a real massive, marked difference between somebody wearing a hat and somebody wearing a cap.
Speaker 2:And now you're like and it was the taller the hat would show. Not necessarily show like where you were a hairstyle in that word but yes, it was lower to your head.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You probably were of lower class.
Speaker 1:That's it, yeah.
Speaker 2:Have you been watching the Guild of Eight?
Speaker 1:No, no, I know, and you're the second person to say that, so I really do need to get onto it.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah I think I would too. I know I would. I I will start it because I have. Also. I've been told to watch it. Um, they also sing.
Speaker 1:What's it gonna take to stop the scabbers? And, as I said to you, what scabs were In the real strike of 1899, newsies often beat up the scabs. Oh, okay, yeah, until the leader or one of the leaders at the time, kid Blink, whom Jack Kelly in the musical is roughly based upon, as you said, it's a mixture of, so he's the one featured in the movie Okay, so they would have beat the scabs up back in the day. Until you know this, kid Blink told them to stop the brutality because he wanted them to stick together, not to fight. So there you go Break the will of mighty Bill and Joe Bill, short for William Hearst, joe Joseph Plitzer and the world will know, is a really interesting double meaning, because you've got the world, the newspaper, the Plitzer publication, and then the world would know about these newsies We've mentioned.
Speaker 1:They sing about when the circulation bell starts ringing. Will we hear it? So we know what the circulation bell is. No, we don't Haven't spoken about the circulation bell, spoke about the window. So the circulation bell was a bell that rang when they needed to start delivering the newspapers. Yeah, and that line. Jack Kelly is kind of saying that when they're striking when the bell goes, they won't hear it or they'll ignore it. Yeah, Now they're going to see what stop the presses really means and I thought, oh, that's an interesting like saying stop the presses. In print journalism means the printing of an edition stops halfway to give way for a very important or breaking news story. Then in King of New York I love King of New York and it's a brilliant tap number it's absolutely brilliant. They sing. You don't need money when you're famous. They give you whatever you want gratis.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And gratis means without charge. So if you think about famous people today, they get complimentary things just because of their fame. They get it on gratis, I know, and they say they get it on gratis, and they say it like that gratis in the show and I love it. Um, they sing permanent box at the sheep's head races. So sheep, uh, sheep's head bay racetrack was an american thoroughbred, uh, horse racing facility. Only the rich people would have got the boxes that the sheep head races.
Speaker 1:I love this line, my personal puss on a wooden nickel. Do you know what a puss is? So the word puss is slang for face. So Finch, who sings that line, wants to see his face inscribed on, also a wooden nickel, because nickel, like nickels, would be metal, right, yeah, okay. So there you go. And then my I think it's my last one because I bored you to death yeah, the last one. From King of New York they sing Emscray, okay, okay. Or they say Emscray and Emscray A-M and then S-C-R-A-Y just means to scram in something called Pig Latin. Have you heard of this? What is Pig Latin? So Pig Latin was created in the late 1800s by kids like the Newsies, who wanted to speak without the adults understanding them.
Speaker 2:Love it.
Speaker 1:So they made up their own pig Latin.
Speaker 2:Ah, that's cool, yeah, that's cool. We secret language.
Speaker 1:We secret language.
Speaker 2:Love it, that's great.
Speaker 1:I sometimes think kids today have like pig. Latin. I'm like what.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:All the sleigh Sleigh.
Speaker 2:Rez. I'm like what, yeah, all the sleigh, sleigh, rez.
Speaker 1:I'm cooked, cooked. You're cold and I'm like no, I'm perfect temperature. Thank you very much, but cold means like really cool, like you're cold.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know. It totally blows my mind, the cooked one gets me because it's like like'm, oh, I'm cooked, I'm cooked and I'm like what? What do you mean to mean you're good at that? Or? Yeah, I mean that you're stressed out, you're just talk normally. Yeah, what is it you're trying to say?
Speaker 1:and then, to finish this off, on that um, on the p7 residential, they were trying to educate me on all these things, right, all these random, really weird, what is it they call it? They call it brain rot. I'm like even the fact you call it brain rot speaks volumes here. Folks Like this is nonsense. But then one of them said you're so nonchalant. And I went I'm sorry, hold on. If you think you have invented this word nonchalant, I hate to tell you, but it's been around for a very they couldn't believe it. They were like what I was like? No, no, no, no, no. Nonchalant is a word. It is in the dictionary. You haven't made this one up. Okay, they couldn't quite understand it.
Speaker 2:There's all the things, the facial expressions and then mannerisms that they do as well, like the mewing, and all of that. It's just all bizarre. It's another sign that we are old.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what I was about to say. I feel extremely old.
Speaker 2:Newsies is such a fun musical. Love it Really fun and it's a really fun one to do with kids Like.
Speaker 1:I said there's.
Speaker 2:Newsies, juniors. There's loads of productions on all the time and it's great. There is the Pro Shot. It's not currently free at the moment.
Speaker 1:I thought it was on Disney Plus. No, it's not, because I was going to go back and watch it after this pod.
Speaker 2:It's been taken off.
Speaker 1:Why Is it on Netflix?
Speaker 2:No, I checked Netflix too. It's on YouTube. That's weird.
Speaker 1:Why would Disney take newsies off their own streaming platform? That makes no sense whatsoever.
Speaker 2:It is weird. Yeah, do you want, what would Paddy do? Are we doing stand-a-nose? I forgot about that.
Speaker 1:What are doing stand-a-nose? Oh yeah, sorry stand-a-nose.
Speaker 2:I forgot about that. What are your stand-a-nose?
Speaker 1:It's really hard because I really like all the biggies like Carrie the Banner and the world the world will know and I love Seas Today Now is the time to seize it and King of New York. But I also likeize the Day Now is the time to seize it and King of New York. But I also like Catherine's number, and I'm now just mentioning every number in the show. What I do love about it, and what I probably think is a stand-in ovation, is probably the choreography from the original production, and I remember one of the numbers is at Seize the Day, where they stand on newspapers and then they they like spread their legs and they rip the newspaper in half so that they're like the two bits of the newspaper are still under their feet and then they continue to like slide their feet around and it's like they're on skates or something, but it's very clever yeah, but it also, and then there's enough newspaper there for the person beside them.
Speaker 1:Exactly, and they swap and all that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's the Tony version. Whenever they do it in the Tony's, it's on there and you can watch it.
Speaker 1:I love it and the acrobat like my heart's in my mouth. I hate all that tumbling nonsense, but it looks really good when it's done properly and together. What what? That's what I realized about the newsies there. They were so together in their choreography, but then that fits with the storyline.
Speaker 2:They were so together that's what one of my sound innovations is is the fact that it's a real ensemble show. Yeah, and then, as you mentioned before, they can do it without their swings and their understudies and their alternates. It is such a family-based show and I think that I think even the way they boy, they boy together.
Speaker 1:I was about to say.
Speaker 2:Like little dance section. So that's what I think that's. My salvation is the actual show and how they show their ensemble.
Speaker 1:And I also loved the original set. It was literally just almost like a steps and a frame, like a steel frame, like almost what's that called Like scaffolding I can't remember what number it was, was it? The world will know maybe where they all they've been doing stuff and then they all get in amongst the frame, so they'll, and there's like different levels to it, and then they're all in it and like their own wee pictures and stuff, and then the frame just moves forward right to the front of the, the staging or the yeah, the stage, and I just thought that's like so epic and like strong and like we're coming. Yeah, that's why I think it might be the world will know and it's just like, so, like wow.
Speaker 1:So those moments are probably the stand ovations for me yeah, hopefully it returns I think it will return yeah I mean if the producers you can't say that and you can't have that on the. What's it called? The website not 2025.
Speaker 2:It's not coming this year yeah obviously um, but I mean it was 2023 whenever it left yeah, I know, I know so I feel. So I feel like if it said that it was coming sooner rather than later. But maybe it's just. It is a big show and it needs to be finished.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's it. I suppose there's so many like curveballs that can be thrown in.
Speaker 2:And I suppose people have a thing where the troubadour isn't technically West End yeah, yeah, but like I don't think it'll go back, and I suppose people have a thing where the Troubadour isn't technically West End yeah, but like I don't think it'll go back into the Troubadour because I don't think Starlight Express is going to go anywhere soon, I think.
Speaker 1:so yeah, Well, I mean, they've just done a big cast change, haven't they? So I think I might be wrong, but I kind of think with shows like Starlight Express, so much has to be invested into the show in that they have to do skate school and like there's more to it's not the normal kind of rehearsal process where you can maybe get the cast up and running in like a two week, four week rehearsal process. There is you have to go to skate school. There's so much that goes into preparing them. Yeah to, you know, if they've gone to that hassle for an another cast, like you would think they're there for at least another year yeah, and when it was in the Victoria Apollo share the last time, it was there for a long time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, okay, I would love to go to the Germany one now.
Speaker 2:I would love to go to German West End just to experience it yeah, yeah. I know it's not called the West End but German Theatre Maybe we should do that as like a musical lyrical lingo podcast trip. Let's do it, we'll do it. People can come along.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, what would Paddy do?
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:No, this is for you. Like as in the question is for you, okay, okay, would you like to be part of the Newsies national tour?
Speaker 1:Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:Okay, you're just in the ensemble, or?
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 2:Yeah, would you like to choreograph?
Speaker 1:seize the day with the original cast or any of the numbers both of those options fill me with absolute fear, because I, my body wouldn't, my body's not up for um performing, being, being in the ensemble of of newsies like I like I like creaking crack when I like get up in the morning. I can't actually get out of the chair without making this noise like that.
Speaker 2:Those are the noises I now make for just doing normal day-to-day things do you know what I mean, like you were at the height, of you know, and then yeah, and then the other extreme, like talk about imposter syndrome.
Speaker 1:I'd be standing in front of those boys going like this is a joke that I'm standing in front of you asking you to do my choreography?
Speaker 2:It wouldn't be because you're very good at what you do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but no, no, no, no Like think about who you're talking about here.
Speaker 2:I am, but you would have to put that all aside, and you're there for a reason. You've been chosen because you're the best, the best.
Speaker 1:I think for a performer I'm a dancer there's very few shows that would rival newsies, do you not think? I think I'd go into the ensemble would you. Yeah, I put. I put my wee cap on and my wee. I love the wee bags that they put over their shoulders as well. It's dead cute. Like I'd love to be able to jetay now the way they do come on, go do it, I get on.
Speaker 1:I also have never been able to do a flip, but sure I give it a. Give me that newspaper. I'll split it in half and do the wee. To be fair, in stage school one year we did, we did that number and we used some of the original choreography. And like we did get the newspapers into stage school and we used some of the original choreography and like we did get the newspapers and the stage skill and we had so much fun, like we had so much fun in class trying it out and we were learning it at the same time as the kids learning it. So it was just lovely, like it was lovely to do that. Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 1:it's a special wee show it's a great show, really, really, really great show. I'm really annoyed. It's been taken off streaming again. I know what do I pay Mr Spritzen for if I can't see Newsies live. I know we need all the musicals. Is it because they've now put Frozen live on that they've taken Newsies off? They need to wind their neck and I'm writing a letter.
Speaker 2:Hamilton's still on.
Speaker 1:I'm writing a letter.
Speaker 2:You're writing a letter.
Speaker 1:It's disgraceful. I can't understand. It's a Disney, I know. I know Disney theatrical and they're taking their own work off their streaming platform.
Speaker 2:I don't understand, but more pro shots need to happen. There needs to be a better streaming service for pro shots that are available.
Speaker 1:But do you not think that time's coming? Look at the number of pro shots that have happened in the last couple of years. Like it is, the tide is changing and I think it's because of ticket prices and I think producers are now realising we've got to do this to keep our work going Also pro shops.
Speaker 2:don't take away from people buying ticket prices. It just makes it more accessible to people to see your work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if anything, I think surely it has to do the opposite. If you see the pro shot and you go oh my goodness, I absolutely love that, you immediately go. I have to do the opposite. If you see the pro shot and you go oh my goodness, I absolutely love that, you immediately go. I have to see it live. I have to excuse the Hamilton pun, but be in the room where it happened.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I see National Theatre Live have now released their new programmes of productions that they're putting on there. I love that. I love a wee National Theatre live job.
Speaker 2:But that's it. They have to realise that not everybody can travel in and see and also, even if it is a special occasion, you still don't always get to pay the prices, because it is just a wee bit ridiculous. So hopefully there's more, more comes from yeah shots, um, and I also feel for the actors like they are doing that eight shows a week and they don't have anything that's it tangible yep, no thousand percent because they don't always get a cash recording, so it feels like you should get one or the other, doesn't it?
Speaker 1:Honestly, like I kind of feel we are like like what's the word Are?
Speaker 2:we newsies in it. Are we starting like a union?
Speaker 1:We are a bit like that, aren't we Like? We're like a musical theatre, like union, driving for what is right and what is good. This is what we want, people. This is what the people want. I mean, we're speaking on your behalf, but I'm sure, I'm sure that's what?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, just drop us a wee message.
Speaker 1:Who do we think we are? We're Musical, ergo Lingo that's true, and listen, you're going to have a wee break from us again. Yes, just a wee, a wee week or two, because full disclosure at time of recording, I'm about to go into a youth project so I'm going to need to lie down now. When this episode comes out, the youth project will be over. But sure, hey-ho, that's recording for you folks. Yeah, all the biz that goes on in the background.
Speaker 2:We will have an exciting episode whenever we do come back and we will have a really exciting like second part of this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the second half of this year looks fun, fun, fun. We haven't had the guests this year that we had last year, but that's because there's so many to come in the second half of the year, which is going to be really fun because, let's be honest, nobody wants to listen to us week in, week out. They want to hear from other people that are much more interesting than us.
Speaker 2:It's lovely to have variety.
Speaker 1:Variety's the spice of life.
Speaker 2:It is.
Speaker 1:On that.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening, and we'll be back in your ears in a week or two.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm going to go into a cold room and rock myself back and forward with the thought of the next Fortnite. It's Greece as well. Like you know my favorite musical. Do you remember back to that podcast we did on the grease and how we absolutely ripped it to shreds? Uh-huh, thanks until then. If I survive, you'll see me back. If not, cj we stepping in because she's all flipping. Loved her, didn't you? Until next time, bye.
