Character guide
Jack Kelly
from Newsies
Jack Kelly is the streetwise leader of the newsboys in Newsies, Alan Menken's 2012 musical inspired by the real 1899 newsboy strike.
- Show
- Newsies
- Broadway premiere
- 2012
- Role
- Lead
- Music by
- Alan Menken
Jack Kelly: from the film to Broadway
Broadway compared with the 1992 Disney film
In the 1992 Disney film, Christian Bale's Jack Kelly is an alias: his real name is Francis Sullivan, and his father is in jail. The 2012 stage musical, where Jeremy Jordan originated Jack and earned a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical, makes him an orphan and gives him an artist's talent: he paints backdrops for Medda's theatre, and his drawings become crucial to the strike.
His love interest changes too. On screen Jack falls for Sarah Jacobs, David's sister. The musical cuts Sarah and pairs him with Katherine Plumber, a new reporter character who turns out to be Pulitzer's daughter. Both versions keep his dream of Santa Fe, and in both he chooses to stay in New York.
Who is Jack Kelly?
Jack is a quick-witted, artistic young newspaper seller who dreams of a better life beyond the streets of New York City. When the newspaper publishers raise prices on the boys who sell their papers, Jack steps up to organize and lead a strike, discovering his own capacity for leadership along the way.
His journey from a boy looking out for himself to someone fighting for a whole community gives the show its emotional core and its sense of underdog triumph.
Jack's role in Newsies
Jack is the lead role of Newsies and requires a performer with strong dance ability alongside a powerful, youthful singing voice, since the show leans heavily on athletic, high-energy choreography. The part also calls for genuine charisma, as Jack has to believably rally a stage full of fellow performers into a unified cause.
Performers enjoy the role for its physicality and its hopeful, scrappy spirit, and audiences respond to Jack as a classic underdog hero rooted in real labor history.
Jack Kelly: frequently asked questions
What show is Jack Kelly from?
Jack Kelly is the lead character in Newsies, which opened on Broadway in 2012.
Is Jack Kelly a lead or supporting role?
Jack Kelly is the lead role and the central figure driving the newsboys' strike.
Who wrote the music for Newsies?
Alan Menken composed the music for Newsies.
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