I’ve got to admit, this one tiptoed into my inbox out of left field: The Disney musical Newsies, based on the company’s 1992 film, is leaving the Nederlander on August 24th for good after a relatively successful two-and-a-half-year run.(For the record, when Newsies sews up its Broadway run at 1,005 performances at a box office gross of over $100M, it will have been the second-longest show to grace the Nederlander stage, after Rent.)

Corey Cott with the cast. Photo by Heidi Gutman.

READ: All Hail 'The King of New York' – Newsies Continues Its Broadway Reign

The show, which began previews on a March 15th (the Ides be damned), got its initial boost from fans of the movie musical which, while tanking at the box office, went on to become a cult favorite via TV airings and DVD. The storyline — young, impoverished underdogs facing off against a turn-of-the-19th-century greed-infested newspaper industry spearheaded by fourth-estate titan Joseph Pulitzer — is nothing new; buff tiers of newsboys executing gravity-defying dance numbers, on the other hand, are pretty darn impressive.Which is why I predict a most successful North American tour (25 cities over 43 weeks) when the show hits the road this coming October. (For itinerary and ticket information tour, visit NewsiesTheMusical.com/Tour, Facebook.com/Newsies and Twitter.com/Newsies.)

As for why Newsies is closing up shop while still in the plus column, most likely it has run its fiscal course. Once summer demand wanes — which is inevitable in the fall and its influx of new show — it makes sense to expand audience outreach coast-to-coast.

Of course, Newsies’ exodus frees up the Nederlander for a new production, and my money’s on the fall Titanic revival that was shelved by producers last May “due to the lack of availability of an appropriate Broadway theater.” Revamped with a stash of rave reviews from its 2013 London run ["…this is a gripping, ambitious ensemble piece and, with a steady hand and a gimlet eye for detail, the director steers it on a course to success." (The London Times)], it certainly seems like an ideal candidate — depending, of course, on where it ranks on the waiting list.