The curtain will go up on Broadway for Disney’s Newsies in 2012. The stage adaptation of Disney’s own 1992 movie about an 1899 New York City paperboy strike is set for an initial three-month run at the Nederlander Theater from March 15 to June 10. At a $5 million cost, the investment is relatively small for Disney, which is hoping that the 19th century labor strike musical will succeed where Tarzan and The Little Mermaid did not.
Newsies debuted at New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse earlier this fall to fairly positive reviews. The production starred Jeremy Jordan, who’s currently another new Broadway musical, Bonnie & Clyde, which opens on Dec. 1. It’s not clear yet whether he will lead Newsies. The creative team responsible for the Paper Mill production, including director Jeff Calhoun, will reunite for Broadway, the New York Times reports. Maybe in a few years Disney can produce Newsies 2, where bloggers attempt to form a union and strike out against evil laborers. Or maybe not.
Related: Theater Review: Newsies’ Time Is Now