Alan Menken, Kenny Ortega, and ‘Newsies’ Cast Mobilize Voters in Remix Video
Actors from Broadway‘s Newsies, Suffs, and other stage productions are doing their part to encourage people to vote. The actors released a video featuring a medley of remixed Newsies tracks, including renditions of “Carrying the Banner” and “Seize the Day” reframed for the 2024 election.
Similar to the Broadway Newsies production, based on the 1992 Disney film of the same name, the remix video begins with newsboy Jack Kelly rallying an army of townspeople to participate in the next election. “Running your mouth don’t change nothing, spot,” Jack said in the video. “But when you vote, your voice is heard.”
Broadway Votes, a nonpartisan voter registration initiative, produced the project. Alan Menken (Aladdin, Hercules, Tangled) composed the music, Jack Feldman (Thumbelina) wrote the lyrics, and Kenny Ortega (Hocus Pocus, High School Musical 3) directed it. The trio all worked on the 1992 original.
“Both the Newsies original movie and the Broadway show inspired a whole generation to become organizers,” wrote Broadway Votes co-founder Nelini Stamp in a statement to Rolling Stone. “So it is an absolute joy to remix the original source material to put a joyous message about democracy out in times of darkness. Newsies always taught me that no one can ever take our joy away.”
Newsies Broadway stars Andrew Keegan-Bolger, Ben Fankhauser, Kara Lindsay, and Tommy Bracco participated in the clip. The Outsiders‘ Josh Strobl, & Juliet‘s Justin David Sullivan, Moulin Rouge’s Oyoyo Joi, and Jagged Little Pill‘s Antonio Cipriano also performed.
In addition, presidential candidate Kamala Harris hosted a special event in Manhattan’s theater district to mobilize Broadway fans on Monday. During the “Broadway Rallies for Kamala,” Anne Hathaway performed a rendition of Queen’s “Find Me Somebody to Love.” Before breaking into song — nearly two decades after she performed the hit in Ella Enchanted — Hathaway endorsed the presidential candidate.
“Also, in case you didn’t know, I am voting for Kamala,” Hathaway said, asking the crowd if anyone else had made their pick. “Isn’t it a relief to be decided? It’s very important to remember that America is a very big place, and not everybody is decided, especially in an election like this when passions are rightly so intense, because the stakes couldn’t be higher. It’s still very important to remember that you have to meet people where they are at, especially when you’re canvassing and phone banking.”
Other “Broadway Rallies for Kamala” attendees included stars Audra McDonald, Billy Porter, and Whoopi Goldberg.
