Now is the time to seize the day — and vote.
Such is the message of a timely and galvanizing “Newsies” short film from Broadway Votes , the national theater industry’s nonpartisan get-out-the-vote initiative formed to promote the importance of voter participation.
The music video — directed by Kenny Ortega, who helmed the 1992 movie musical — features a bit of script and updated versions of “Carrying the Banner” and “Seize the Day.” These revisions were done by the Disney title’s original composer, Alan Menken, and lyricist Jack Feldman, as well as Harvey Fierstein, who wrote the book for the hit stage show that debuted on Broadway in 2012.
Filmed Sept. 30 at New York’s Connelly Theater, the short re-creates the story’s rally scene, but rather than gathering to kick off the newsboys’ strike of 1899, this assembly is all about reminding people why voting matters.
“We’ll be out there, carrying the message far and wide / Don’t just sit there, leaving it for others to decide,” the company sings during the new “Carrying the Banner.”