Disney's Newsies the Broadway Musical

In 1899, Jack Kelly (Jordan) makes a living as a newsboy, selling papers for Joseph Pullitzer (Blanchard).  Jack works along other newsboys, called newsies, including his best friend Crutchie (Keegan-Bolger).  Jack is well-known among the newsies and commands respect.  He befriends Davey (Fankhauser) and Les (Steiner) Jacobs and takes them under his wing.

Pullitzer decides to increase the newsies price for the papers to motivate them to sell more papers.  The newsies are outraged and form a union, led by Jack and Davey, and strike.  Jack is the face of the strike, while Davey lays out what they need to do.  Their strike catches the attention of new reporter Katherine (Lindsay), who asks for an exclusive story.  Can they take on Pullitzer and win?


This is a special filming of the Broadway production of Newsies.  The Broadway show ran on Broadway from 2012-2014, with a book by Harvey Fierstein.

The show is based on the 1992 movie Newsies, which was based on the 1899 Newsboys strike.  The movie featured songs by Alan Menken and incredible choreography.  The show took all the majority of the songs from the movie, while adding some new ones and reworking parts of the existing songs.  The show opened with Jeremy Jordan, Ben Fankhauser, and Kara Lindsay in the lead roles.  The show was nominated for 8 Tony Awards and won 2: Best Choreography for Christopher Gattelli and Best Original Score for Alan Menken and Jack Feldman.

In addition to the song changes, the show also made some changes to the characters.  Apart from Davey and Les, the Jacobs family does not appear.  The character of Sarah Jacobs and the reporter, Bryan Denton, are combined into a new character: Katharine.  They also cut down on the number of newsies, including Kid Blink (the name of the actual leader of the 1899 Newsboys Strike).

I love the movie and I also love the show.  I fell in love with the soundtrack and YouTube clips of the show, but didn't have the opportunity to see the show.  This taping reunites the original leads, including Andrew Keegan-Bolger as Crutchie, and other talented performers (many of whom appeared in the show on Broadway or when the National Tours).  The dancing is phenomenal and the whole cast grabs your attention from the beginning.  Like the film, one of the best characters is Race (Racetrack in the film), portrayed here by Ben Cook.  He gets to shine in the "King of New York" song.  I fell in love with the cast and the performances, and ended the show with a smile and a desire to watch it again.

If you love the film, check out this performance... and if you love the show, give the movie a chance.

Disney's Newsies the Broadway Musical (2017) 149 minutes
Director: Brett Sullivan
Starring: Jeremy Jordan as Jack Kelly
Ben Fankhauser as Davey Jacobs
Kara Lindsay as Katherine
Steve Blanchard as Joseph Pulitzer
Aisha de Haas as Medda Larkin
Andrew Keegan-Bolger as Crutchie
Ethan Steiner as Les Jacobs
Tommy Bracco as Spot Conlon
Ben Cook as Race
Jordan Samuels as Specs

TV: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Miss Phryne Fisher (Davis) is a wealthy and unconventional woman in the 1920s.  She is bored with life in England and moves to Australia for an adventure.  She loves a mystery and after aiding Detective Inspector Jack Robinson (Page) with a case, she decides to become a lady detective.

She purchases a home in Melbourne and hires Mr. Butler (Blight) to keep her life in order, and Dorothy Williams (Cummings) to be her companion.  They also strike up a friendship with taxi drivers Bert Johnson (McMahon) and Cec Yates (Sharpe) to help with investigations.

With encouragement from her friend Dr. Elizabeth "Mac" Macmillan (MacIntosh) and her aunt Prudence Stanley (Margolyes), along with help from Constable Hugh Collins (Johnstone-Burt), Phryne dives into the detective world.


A friend recommended this show and I was hooked after the first episode.

The show is based on Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher Mysteries.  The show's pilot is based on the first book in the series, "Cocaine Blues," which was published in 1989.  Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger came across the series and wanted to adapt for TV.  They served as the shows creators and producers, and consulted with Greenwood on the first series.

While the show, especially the first series, is based on the books, they made numerous changes to the characters and the plot.  I discovered the show before I knew about the books, so I didn't know about the changes.  I am just about finished with "Cocaine Blues" now, and it is different from the show, but I enjoy both versions.

The show is fun.  It has incredible, and award-winning, costumes, by Marion Boyce.  The costumes are gorgeous and clearly set the stage for the time period of the series.  The cast is great, especially Essie Davis in the lead.  She is dynamic and you can't wait to see what she will do next.  And she has sizzling chemistry with Nathan Page as Detective Inspector Jack Robinson.  While the show focuses on Davis' Phryne, the side characters are also entertaining.

It is a fun and jazzy murder mystery, with a great lead.  It is a fun and suspenseful show.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012-2015)
Creator: Deb Cox & Fiona Eagger
Starring: Essie Davis as Phryne Fisher
Nathan Page as Detective Inspector Jack Robinson
Ashleigh Cummings as Dorothy Williams
Hugo Johnstone-Burt as Constable Hugh Collins
Richard Blight as Mr. Butler
Travis McMahon as Bert Johnson
Anthony Sharpe as Cec Yates
Tammy MacIntosh as Dr. Elizabeth "Mac" Macmillan
Miriam Margolyes as Prudence Stanley
Ruby Rees-Wemyss as Jane Ross

Annie Oakley (1935)

Everyone in town knows Annie Oakley (Stanwyck) is an expert shot.  Her shooting provides for her family and provides the meet for all the local stores.  She is invited to shoot against "the greatest shot in the world," Toby Walker (Foster).  She matches Toby shot for shot but allows him to win.

Jeff Hogarth (Douglas) is impressed with Annie and hires her to be the second sharpshooter on the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, alongside Toby.  Annie is infatuated with Toby and agrees.  Colonel William "Buffalo Bill" Cody (Olsen) doesn't like the idea of adding a woman to the show, but is agrees to give her a chance.  Toby offers Annie showmanship tricks to add to her act and her first show is a success.  Sitting Bull (Thunderbird) sees her act and agrees to join the show.  Can Annie find love with her success?


Annie Oakley was a sharpshooter and exhibition shooter.  At the age of 15 she won a shooting competition against marksman Frank Butler (who she later married), and few years they joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.  She become a renowned marksman across the world.

This film was released less than 10 years after the real Annie Oakley's death (in 1926).  This was the first film about Oakley.  In 1946 Irving Berlin turned Oakley's life into a Broadway musical "Annie Get Your Gun."  The show was adapted to a film musical, Annie Get Your Gun, in 1950 with Betty Hutton as the lead.  I love Annie Get Your Gun (both the original show that starred Ethel Merman and Jerry Orbach, and this film that also stars Howard Keel).  From 1954 to 1956, Gail Davis played Oakley in the Annie Oakley TV show.  She also appeared as a character in other movies / TV shows.

For this film, they named her suitor Toby Walker (instead of her actual partner Butler).  Butler died a few days after Oakley, and the filmmakers feared a lawsuit from his estate and created a new love interest for this film.  They also decided to focus on the relationship between these two, with her rise to fame in the background.

Barbara Stanwyck is a phenomenal actress, and she is excellent here.  She makes Oakley a powerful force, but still accessible.  Her male co-stars are good, but this is Stanwyck's show.  Preston Foster's Toby is cocky, but still endearing.  Melvyn Douglas' Jeff and Moroni Olsen's Buffalo Bill are good, a nice combination of funny and serious.  And Chief Thunderbird is great as Sitting Bull, funny without becoming a caricature.  The film is a nice mix of drama, romance and comedy and clearly reveres it's subject.  An enjoyable film with another wonderful performance by Stanwyck!

Annie Oakley (1935) 90 minutes
Director: George Stevens
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck as Annie Oakley
Preston Foster as Toby Walker
Melvyn Douglas as Jeff Hogarth
Moroni Olsen as Colonel William "Buffalo Bill" Cody
Pert Kelton as Vera Delmar
Andy Clyde as James MacIvor
Chief Thunderbird as Sitting Bull

Love Laughs at Andy Hardy

"It's eighty-five dollars. Why you're a millionaire!"

Judge (Stone) and Emily (Holden) Hardy are overjoyed to learn that their son Andy (Rooney) is coming home after 2 years in the Army.  Andy is happy to be a civilian again, but is eager to return to college.  He wants to propose to Kay Wilson (Granville), his college sweetheart, but his parents do not agree with the plan.

Shortly after arriving at school he runs into Kay and asks her to the freshman dance.  He also runs into his old friend, Duke Johnson (Hackett), who talks him into being the chair of the freshman dance.  Kay has to go home for a family emergency and continually avoids conversations with Andy.  Andy needs needs a date for the dance and asks freshman Coffy Smith (Ford).


Mickey Rooney made 16 Andy Hardy films.  The series began in 1937 with A Family Affair.  The series was produced by MGM and they used it as a platform to introduce new stars.  This was the penultimate film in the series (the final film in the series, Andy Hardy Comes Home, debuted 12 years later).  The series revolved around the Hardy family, specifically the relationship between the Judge and Andy.  This is the only film I've seen in this series, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and want to watch more.

My favorite part of the film is Rooney dancing with Dorothy Ford (picture above).  Rooney was 5'2" and Ford was 6'2", and they have to get creative to dance together... but it works and you can't help but smile during the song.

The characters are endearing and heart-felt.  It is a funny, family comedy and definitely worth checking into.

Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946) 95 minutes
Director: Willis Goldbeck
Starring: Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy
Lewis Stone as Judge Hardy
Sara Haden as Aunt Milly
Bonita Granville as Kay Wilson
Lina Romay as Isobel Gonzales
Fay Holden as Mrs. Hardy
Dorothy Ford as Coffy Smith
Hal Hackett as Duke Johnson

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

"Can we put the bickering on hold till AFTER we survive the massive space battle?"

After saving the galaxy, the Guardians of the Galaxy are hired for legitimate jobs.  They are hired by the Sovereigns to protect some powerful batteries.  They are successful, but Rocket (Cooper) steals some of the batteries and the Sovereigns, led by Ayesha (Debicki), attack their ship.

Their ship sustains heavy damage, but they manage to crash on a plant, while another ship destroys the Soverigns' drones.  The other ship is piloted by Ego (Russell), who reveals he is Peter Quill's (Pratt) father.  Ego invites Quill, Gamora (Saldana), and Drax the Destroyer (Bautista) to go to his home planet and get some answers.  Rocket and Baby Groot (Diesel) stay behind to fix the ship and guard Nebula (Gillan), who their prisoner.

Ayesha is livid that the Guardians escaped.  She turns to Yondu (Rooker) and the Ravagers to find and capture the Guardians.  The Ravagers are questioning Yondu's leadership, especially when it comes to Quill.  With the Ravagers and Sovereigns chasing them, can Quill learn about his past and keep his friends safe?


This is the sequel to 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy.  This is the 15th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the third film in Phase 3 (following Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange).

James Gunn returned to write and direct this film, and brought back the main cast from the first film.  They keep the same feel and coloring as the first film.  It is a fun, space film with bright colors and lots of action.  They also delve more into the characters and fleshing them out a little more.  They give Quill closure about his family and added more emotion to Gamora and Rocket.  Drax is funnier and Baby Groot is adorable.

Chris Pratt is again great as Peter Quill / Star-Lord.  He is funny, but also gets some serious moments.  Zoe Saldana adds more layers to Gamora, while still kicking butt.  Dave Bautista is funny and gets some good moments with Pom Klementieff's Mantis.  Klementieff was a welcome addition to the cast and I look forward to seeing more of her character in the future.  Bradley Cooper continues the sarcasm as Rocket, while also growing as a character.  Baby Groot is adorable and totally steals the show, from the opening scene to the end of film.  You don't expect to see Karen Gillan return as Nebula, but she gets more development (and a solid fight with Gamora).  Michael Rooker is great as Yondu and has excellent chemistry with Rocket.  The new characters are decent and set up the problems.

Like the first film, it has a great soundtrack... and they know how to use the songs to the films advantage.  The opening scene is set to "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra and sets the tone for the rest of the film.

It is another fun, action flick.  You expect mindless action with some humor, but also get some heart and impressive visuals.

The characters are set to appear in the next Avengers film, which will be their first interaction with the other Marvel characters.  They also plan to make a third Guardians film: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) 136 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language, and brief suggestive content
Director: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord
Zoe Saldana as Gamora
Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer
Vin Diesel as Baby Groot
Bradley Cooper as Rocket
Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta
Karen Gillan as Nebula
Pom Klementieff as Mantis
Kurt Russell as Ego
Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord
Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha
Chris Sullivan as Taserface
Sean Gunn as Kraglin