num_pages: 410
description: FROM STRIKE TO SHOWThe newsies strike of 1899 was the last successful child labor riot of the 19th century but by the time the history books were scripted and printed it was little more than a footnote. Newsies vs. The World takes a microscope to the events of the strike and its ongoing legacy in contemporary film and musical theatre. It explores the intense rivalry between publishing tycoons Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst from their vicious circulation battle and the invention of yellow journalism to their involvement in the Spanish-American War and the ripple effects of that war on New York Citys young newspaper hawkers. It also dives headfirst into the skirmishes of the 1899 strike chronicling the events that inspired the newsboys and newsgirls to band together against Pulitzer and Hearst and detailing the stories of their various riots and rallies.Not only do readers get the full story of the childrens boycott but they also get the inside scoop on Disneys treatment of the movement. Despite a heartfelt performance from a teenage Christian Bale the musical talents of Academy Award-winner Alan Menken and director Kenny Ortegas ability to transform unknown child actors into a polished anthem-belting tap-dancing company Newsies (1992) was panned by critics and audiences alike. Driven by a massive cult following in the 1990s and early 2000s however its surprising resurgence as a breakout Broadway musical in 2012 took Disneyand the story of the 1899 newsiesto unprecedented heights not only spawning a successful national tour but netting two Tony Awards as well.While Newsies (1992) and Newsies the Musical were imperfect and inadequate vehicles to capture such a complex historical moment their indomitable spirit accomplished exactly what newsboy Kid Blink and the newsies of New York City set out to do: It turned their story into a headline and in doing so made the world know the newsies by name.
language: English
title: Newsies vs. The World
publisher: Theme Park Press