Save the Cat Analysis of Newsies, Act I

Jack Kelly dreams of escape

Today, I’m returning to our adaptation of Save the Cat to stage musicals. My original plan was to explore each of the 16 beats of the STC framework, one by one, as they show up in five famous musicals. But I’ve found that I get more insight when I dive into a whole musical, rather than dividing it up beat by beat. So, I’m going through each musical individually. And to keep this digestible, I’m doing one act at a time. 

Today, then, is a study of how the Save the Cat framework shows up in Newsies. 

Logline

The first element is the logline: a one or two sentence summary that introduces us to the protagonist and his goal, the antagonist who gets in the way of that goal, and the stakes for the story. It also includes an element of irony that captures the audience’s attention. 

For Newsies, that would look something like this: Newsboy Jack Kelly longs to leave the grinding streets of New York for freedom, equality and a chance to make something of himself, but when self-serving publisher Joseph Pulitzer raises distribution prices, Jack finds himself rallying all the newsies of the city to strike. 

Genre 

Newsies is a “Fool Triumphant” story which is characterized by an underestimated outsider who takes on a powerful establishment and achieves victory by holding fast to their values and transforming into something new. 

As a homeless teenager, Jack Kelly is underestimated, not only by the world around him, but also by his own judgment. He’s a natural leader but with an artist’s heart; he longs for dignity, equality and beauty, not conflict. He knows that he doesn’t stand a chance of a happy life on the streets of New York. The pinnacle of his ambition is to somehow squirrel away enough money to get onto a train out west, to start fresh in a place where the cards aren’t stacked against him. And maybe to bring along a buddy, Crutchie, who needs a fresh start even more than he does. 

By his own estimation, Jack would be the last guy to go up against a wealthy and powerful man like Joseph Pulitzer. And he knows he wouldn’t stand a chance. But Jack has qualities of character that he doesn’t yet recognize himself. And the discovery of those qualities are going to transform him into a powerful leader who creates a better life, not only for himself, but also for the rest of the exploited kids of New York City. 

The stage musical version of this story leans even more strongly into the Fool Triumphant genre by making Pulitzer's independence-seeking daughter into Jack’s love interest. 

Beat 1: Opening Image

The Opening Image is going to provide an important contrast with Beat 15: the Closing Image. 

The musical opens with an overture (featuring “Seize the Day”) playing to a grey and lonely stage, with a backdrop showing the “News Boys Lodging House.” It’s evidently early morning, and no-one’s around. 

Beat 2: Unifying Theme

The theme is going to be referenced somewhere in the first few minutes of the show. It might appear as a question, as a statement that gets dismissed, or it might be the antithesis that shows up first and then gets disproved through the show. 

In Newsies, the theme is ““you can’t find happiness by running from your problems; you need to ‘Seize the Day’ and face them.” So the action starts with Crutchie getting up before the morning bell rings.  He wants to get to the streets before the rest of the newsies can see how badly he’s limping. The antithesis is going to show up right away, coming from Jack as we move to Beat 3. 

Jack and Katherine meet

Beat 3: The Set Up

This is where we get the background that gets us onboard before the story goes fully into motion. 

This starts with Jack urging Crutchie to take it easy a few minutes longer. He says, “Them streets down there, they sucked the life right out of my old man… When they finally broke him, they tossed him to the curb, just like yesterday’s paper… Well they ain’t doin that to me!” And then he sings “Santa Fe,” his I Want song, about how he’s going to get away and find a better life out west, and Crutchie should come along. 

We then get the rest of the set-up in quick and lively succession, meeting the rest of the newsies in “Carrying the Banner.” We see them collecting the papers they’ll be selling at The World, and meet newcomers Davey and Les, whose experience with a unionized father is going to affect how they respond to what happens next. 

We see Joseph Pulitzer, who publishes The World, decides to increase his profits and move more papers by increasing wholesale prices on the newsies (Here’s the Villain Song: “The Bottom Line”). We find out more about the stakes of Jack’s life on the streets when he gets chased by Snyder, manager of a horrific establishment that imprisons and abuses homeless kids.  They hide out at Medda’s Theatre (“That’s Rich”). There he meets and unexpectedly falls for a young journalist, Katherine, who refuses to give him the time of day. (The Conditional Love Song shows up here: "I Never Planned on You / Don't Come a-Knockin'”). But he draws a sketch of her and leaves it behind for her to discover. 

Beat 4: The Catalyst

This is the event that puts the protagonist into a situation where the status quo can no longer be maintained. 

It happens when the newsies show up for their papers the following day and get told the price has increased by 10 cents per hundred papers. They are already just barely making enough to eat, and not well. This is too much. 

Beat 5: The Debate

This is when the protagonist hesitates on the precipice of change. In Newsies, it happens when Davey urges the newsies to organize a union and go on strike. They’d never considered they might have the power to do something about their no-win situation. Fatalism has become something of a habit for them. But Jack has become Davey’s friend over the last day, and he winds up supporting the idea. 

Jack takes charge

Beat 6: Break Into 2 

This is named as it is, because it refers to the second part of a 3-part structure, even though a stage musical usually has two acts. Act I includes parts one and two of the 3-part structure. 

This is the point of no return. Whatever happens now, the protagonist cannot return to the status quo and has embarked on a journey that will end in fundamental changes.

For Jack, that happens when he gets voted in by the rest of the newsies as their union leader. At this point, we often get a high-energy song that builds and builds and pulls the audience fully onboard. A song like "The World Will Know" which shows up here. 

Beat 7: B Story 

The B Story is a subplot. It’s often focused on a love interest, another important relationship, or other characters who serve as a foil for the protagonist. 

In Newsies, the B-story is Katherine’s dream. She was briefly introduced during the Set Up. But this is where her dream becomes important. She shows up, wanting an exclusive scoop on the striking newsies. We learn that she sees this as her big opportunity to move from the society beat, something she sees as frivolous, and to start covering serious news ("Watch What Happens"). 

Who would think a strike could be such fun?

Beat 8: Fun and Games

This is the moment the audience has been waiting for since they read the logline or heard about the story’s premise. In Newsies, it’s more fun for the audience than for the characters and it doesn’t last long. It where we see the strike gaining momentum and beginning to threaten the powers that be.

Jack sends messengers to other boroughs, inviting them to join the strike. The newsies have a stand-off with “scabs” who wind up throwing their papers down onto the ground, because they want to stand with the city’s exploited children. This is the moment for what Jack Viertel calls a “Tent-pole number,” a rousing song with lively choreography that boosts audience members’ flagging energy in advance of intermission. “Seize the Day” achieves that masterfully.  

Katherine and her photographer capture the triumphant moment. But the victory is shortlived. Pulitzer’s goons, the police, a fierce fight ensues, and the boys are soundly beaten. Things spiral further toward disaster when Snyder appears. As he’s fleeing, Jack sees the goons beat up Crutchie and deliver him to Snyder. 

Beat 9: Midpoint (End of Act I)

This includes either a significant defeat or (less often) a false victory right before the intermission. According to Jack Viertel, in a musical, it usually shows the protagonist’s hopes being dashed to pieces, which adds to the story’s tension in order to bring audiences back after the break. If it’s a victory, it usually shows up as somewhat hollow, because it failed to fulfill the protagonist’s needs. 

Jack arrives at his rooftop, where he can’t let go of the scene he’s just witnessed and the guilt he feels for dragging his friends into this disaster. He was clearly not cut out to be a leader, or to go toe to toe with the powerful. He’s hurt the people he wanted to help. He closes the act singing a reprise of “Santa Fe.” 

We, as an audience, can’t leave the story here. We’ll be back of course. 

And we’ll be back next week with a Save the Cat analysis of Newsies’ Act II. 

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