Episode 11: Newsies

It sure looks exciting, doesn’t it? This week, listeners, Windy steers Mike and Vinnie towards NEWSIES, the 1992 live-action Disney musical. Starring a teen-aged Christian Bale (who was mortified to appear in a musical), a scenery-chewing and excessively gesturing Robert Duvall, and Bill Pullman singing and dancing, this is a film oddity worth watching at least once. This also marks the directorial debut of Kenny Ortega, who also choreographed.  Kenny established himself as a choreographer with XANADU, and also choreographed for a greatest hits list of 80s teen classics (PRETTY IN PINK, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, DIRTY DANCING). Kenny would go on to direct the subject of our first episode – HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL. Honestly, we watched this mostly as a gateway to next week’s episode on the filmed Broadway stage musical. But if you’ve never seen Christian Bale sing and dance (he even has a dance solo), then you need to give this one a look. You’ve got a dance solo – did anyone tell you that? Hats are cool. Attentive listeners will also hear references to one of our “lost” episodes on SHOW BOAT. (We recorded it, but the audio wasn’t salvageable. Maybe someday we’ll try that one again.) You may not be the King of New York, but we hope you’ll Seize the Day and take a listen!     The face that ruined BATMAN BEGINS for Mike. Newsies (1992) Rating: 6.9/10 (23,649 votes)Director: Kenny OrtegaWriter: Bob Tzudiker, Noni WhiteStars: Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Robert DuvallRuntime: 121 minRated: PGGenre: Drama, Family, HistoryReleased: 10 Apr 1992 Plot: A musical based on the New York City newsboy strike of 1899. When young newspaper sellers are exploited beyond reason by their bosses they set out to enact change and are met by the ruthlessness of big business. The post Episode 11: Newsies appeared first on A Reel Education: The Musical!.