Neil Genzlinger's Times review seems to be in the minority. Other critics called it an overlong episode of the original TV show.
Still, it's always good news to get a wonderful Times writeup. And it might help ''The Honeymooners'' make the jump to Broadway.
''Newsies'' made that leap, from Millburn to Manhattan, boosted by far better reviews, including a rave from David Rooney at the N.Y. Times.
Rooney called it ''a musical worth singing about,'' and said it ''has a stirring, old-school sincerity that's hard to resist.''
But when ''Newsies'' landed on Broadway, Ben Brantley reviewed it and didn't find it ''hard to resist.''
Everything that Rooney raved about - the ''irrepressible'' choreography, the ''buoyant and rousing'' songs, the ''dynamic'' staging - were the same things that Brantley criticized. Rooney applauded it as a ''crowdpleaser,'' but Brantley sneered instead.
Oh, well. ''Newsies'' survived Brantley. Originally set for a limited run of 100 shows, it wound up doing over 1,000, plus a tour and live filming. |
