Jeremy Jordan Interview - Newsies the Musical - Jack Kelly

[MUSIC PLAYING] [JAZZY MUSIC PLAYING] When it came out-- I never really aspired to be an actor or anything. But things like this-- when I was a kid, I was telling people the movie didn't flop because of me, because I saw it like three times. [LAUGHS] And it was a Disney movie that was about guys and boys. There weren't any princesses or anything. So that's what really got me hooked to it in the first place, and then the music. And I was always a singer, as a little kid. And I would just sing it all day long. And Jack Kelly was the coolest dude ever. Everybody was always like, man, they should make Newsies a musical. Everybody in my generation is just as in love with it. And so the fact that they finally did, and then I, somehow, got the opportunity to play this role that I was obsessed with as a little kid is just a treat. The difference between originating a role and doing a role that's already been done is that you have all this material to work with. And like, ah, I could see other people perform it and all this stuff. That's no fun, because you want to build that image in people's heads for the first time. They want to see your face and be like, that's that guy, you know? And that's exciting too. And also just being able to research and to find what's not on the page, really, because somebody else has done it. They've already done that. But you get to be the first one to really discover this thing. And that's the interesting part, the discovery. There's lots of quirks. We're still early in the rehearsal process, but he certainly has a stance and a swagger and kind of the way he talks. And he plays with his hat a lot. I don't know. That's a good note. I'll think of some more quirks. My favorite number to sing is "Santa Fe," hands down, easy. In the movie, it's the second song or the third song in the movie. And it's a wistful, hopeful, dreamy number. And then he steals a horse. But in our show, it's the end of Act One, after they've striked-- is that a word? Is it after they've struck? I don't know. What's the past tense of strike? Stricken-- things haven't quite gone as they'd planned. And Jack has just had enough of it. And he's sort of gone completely backwards and into himself. And he's just devastated. And "Santa Fe" is his last cry, his last hopeful cry. And it's really powerful. Most of the new music isn't for me, although there's a beautiful new duet that I and Catherine sing. And it's like the next "Whole New World," I think. So it's beautiful. And he wrote a song for Pulitzer, because he didn't have any songs in the movie. And he wrote a couple of other little ditties. Took away the two songs that the showgirl sang, because nobody really connected with those as much. They always connected with the boy songs. So reworked a few things. But all the new music is great too. [MUSIC - JEREMY JORDAN SINGING, "SANTA FE"] [MUSIC PLAYING]