for a carry-on. reignited the debate. why should skinny passengers have to fay for extra luggage when fat people bring on their extra pounds for free? and, think you can dance? a thrilling and heart-breaking competition. some of the most elite dancers in the world, and they're just kids. tonight, one teen's extraordinary journey to be the best. plus, newsies. stop the presses. from box office bomb starring christian bale to unlikely broadway blockbuster. it is creating a fan frenzy across the nation. well go backstage with the cast of "newsies." >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," may 3rd, 2012. good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden.

tonight, more bad news for air travelers. spirit airlines announced today it will charge up to $100 for a carry-on. so, in a world where everything seems to cost extra on airplanes, some people are arguing that overeight passengers should cough up cash for packing their extra pounds. abc's juju chang brings us the great weight debate. >> my hands are clammy. >> reporter: why? >> i just find myself getting anxious as i get closer to the airport. >> reporter: this woman is doing something she absolutely dreads. >> is it possible to change my seattle so that i'm not sitting next to someone? okay, so, this is 18-inch seats? okay, perfect. >> reporter: she's about to catch a flight home to new orleans. she says she only bake a nervous flyer last may when she was humiliated by a southwest airlines gate agent.

>> the gate agent came up to me and he began -- he asked me how much i weighed, what my, what size clothes i wore. he said i was too fat to fly, i would need an additional seat and he was sort of crass through the whole thing. there was no privacy. he didn't know what the policy was. so, he brought in a supervisor, who didn't know. >> reporter: she's a weight gloss blogger who is suing southwest. not for damages, but to force them to spell out their policy. >> what's most important to me is consistency. i want to know what i have to pay. i'm not opposed to paying more if you tell me what i have to pay and i know at the point of purchase. >> reporter: her kru said is just part of what is a war between planes and their passengers. and that's led to a fierce debate among passengers, over who should pail fy for what. just today, spirit airlines announced that passengers may have to pay up to $100 for their

carry-on bag. so, a skinny person might have to pay an extra 100 bucks to check a 50 pound bag. while a bigger person, 300 pounds, no bags, doesn't have to pay any extra at all. but if you weigh more, should you pay more? it's a simple but inflammatory question, raised by this mild mannered professor, named peter singer. >> it's not about treating these people badly. it's about people paying for the costs they are imposing on the airline or in general. >> reporter: we reached him via skype in australia. because, it turns out, sing earl is a mega-come muter. he teaches at princeton, but he lives all the way in the outback of australia. he thinks, on a flight from, say, his home, to new york, an obese person should face a $30 surcharge. >> buses and trains may have to provide wider seats. hospitals have to have stronger

beds. even they're having to have extra large refridge ray torps for their morgues. it's not hostile till to obesity. why should other people who are lighter be subsidizing those who are heavier? >> reporter: there are plenty of people who like singer's idea. >> i pay for my seat, i want my whole seat. >> reporter: like mimi roth, the founder of national action against obesity. >> i don't want the person next to me on top of my seat or coming underneath the armrest because i paid for my whole seat. it is not personal against them. >> what happened to humanity? these are people. these aren't durable goods being shipped from point a to point b. >> reporter: brandon is an advocate for passenger rights who has become a leader in the fat acceptance movement. >> make seats a little bit larger. >> reporter: we brought them together for what started as a civil conversation. >> the airline industry is an industry, it's a business, not a charity. unlike race or sexual orientation, obesity is not

innate. it's a result of life style choices. so, nobody's forcing someone to become obese. and they are not forced to fly on airlines. >> reporter: but this subject makes people on both sides of the aisle very angry very quickly. >> if you have humanity in you, you should do everything in your power to prevent anybody else from becoming obese. >> and if you have humanity, you should not judge someone. >> what the hell are you talking about? when you have ever judged anybody -- >> you just say suffer. you are basically saying because somebody is fat, they're suffering. >> reporter: let me stop. >> [ bleep ], driving me nuts. >> reporter: lower it for a second. >> i don't note about you, but i can't stand to take my shoes off at the airport. the idea of getting on a scale -- >> i don't think they would implement that in that way. they do bags that way. >> that's a bag. not a person. >> they are building one size fits all airplanes and people are different sizes. 30% of our nation is obese.

>> reporter: and while kenley says she does not advocate obesity, she just doesn't want every trip to the airport to feel her with dread. >> thank you. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm juju chang in new york. >> whoa. well, southwest told us they, quote, approached the situation as diskreeltly as possible. it's providing the extra seat doesn't result in having to deny another customer boarding, we refund the ticket at no charge, which happens more than 90% of the time. well, up next, a high stakes competition for world class dancers. and one teen, who is beating the odds to be the best. i bathed it in miracles. director: [ sighs ] cut! sorry to interrupt. when's the show? well, if we don't find an audience, all we'll ever do is rehearse. maybe you should try every door direct mail. just select the zip codes where you want your message to be seen. print it yourself or find a local partner. and you find the customers that matter most.

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i've been crisscrossing the gulf i can tell you, down here,. people measure commitment by what's getting done. i'm mike utsler, and it's my job to make sure we keep making progress in the gulf. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. another fourteen billion dollars has been spent on response and cleanup. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to the gulf of mexico research initiative... to support ten years of independent scientific research on the environment. results will continue to be shared with the public. and we're making sure people know that the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues, but that doesn't mean our job is done. bp's still here, and we're still committed to seeing this through.

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with cynthia mcfadden. >> it has been said true mastery of any skill requires 10,000 hours of practice. well, tonight, you'll meet some kids who put their childhoods on hold to do just that, pushing their bolds bolds to unimaginae limits. and for the cream of the crop, everything can hinge on one competition, where a dancer with a remarkable story is denying the odds and the stereotypes. they break the boundaries of body and mind that hold most of us on the ground. anyone who has ever dreamed of excellence or tried to be the best will recognize the thousands of hours already spent in these young lives, to appear so effortless. putting their bodies and their feet through unimaginable

punishment. and, of course, there's the heart ache. they commit their child hoods to their passion, practicing six, seven, even eight hours a day before most kids are even in grade school, for a dream most will not achieve. and so, the constant question. is the sacrifice too great? you can sincerely say you are happy to be doing this? >> i am really happy to be doing this, yes. >> reporter: michaela deprince is one of the elite few chosen to compete with other young people from all over the world in ballet's ultimate challenge. the youth america grand prings. it can make or break a career. >> i can't see myself not dancing. >> reporter: it's that much apart of you? >> yeah, i think it's pretty much all of me. >> reporter: almost no one could have predicted her phenomenal success. captured in a new documentary called "first position."

>> that's me and that's mia. >> reporter: born in africa, in war-torn sierra leone. >> my parents were shot by the rebels. and so my uncle brought me to the orphanage and -- i lived there. >> reporter: and it looked as if that was where she would remain, due in part toville lie go, when left her black skin spotted with white. she was called the devil child. no one wanted her. and then, elaine deprince and her husband arrived. >> so, i was in the process of adopting one child and i heard that there was another child they couldn't find a placement for, because she was spotted. so, we decided to take her, too. >> reporter: but long before she was adopted, michaela had already fastened onto a dream. >> in the orphanage, i found a magazine with a ballet dancer en

point. she looked so happy. being on your toes, that was amazing, i thought. that's the only thing i live for is to become this person, to be exactly like this ballerina. >> reporter: so, there was a lot at stake two years ago when at 15, michaela suffered what could have been a career-ending injury, leading up to her final performance at grand prix. >> i just hurts a lot. >> reporter: she was warned not to dance. >> michaela deprince. >> reporter: despite the pain, did anyway. i don't know if it was guts, courage or foolishness that had you go on that day. you should have -- >> i could have ruined my career. i guess maybe some part of me knew that i was going to be okay. >> reporter: it was a gamble. >> it was. it was. >> reporter: a gamble that paid off. she's now a student at the jacqueline onassis school of the american ballet theater. do you feel this was destiny? >> well, when i was younger, i

used to think i was dreaming, because it was too good to be true. >> reporter: but despite all her talent, michaela has battle left to fight. there is the issue everyone but her seems to dance around. race. >> being a dark black ballet dancer, there's a lot of pressure on us, i feel like i have to work ten times harder. i don't want to sound, like, rude or anything, but that's just how i feel. >> reporter: michaela's mother knows all about the racism facing her daughter. >> when i was attending an international ballet competition, the woman sitting behind me said, oh, my goodness, everybody knows that black girls can't point their toes. >> reporter: just one of many such remarks. how does it make you feel? >> ashamed. i feel like jim crow is still part of our lives. >> reporter: as a result, michaela's future is uncertain. how many top flight ballet

companies will want her? she, however, is determined to change things. >> one day, i want to perform white swan and i know that would be really weird to have a black girl in a white tutu performing "swan lake," but i just hope they see past that. >> reporter: she's well on her way. day bug la debuting last week on abc's "dancing with the stars." you think you can break down the color barriers? >> i really hope i do. i really hope so. >> i'm rooting for her. "first position" opens in theaters tomorrow. and just ahead, we seize the day with the cast of "newsies," and give you a peak behind the scenes. follow the wings.

it's the broadway smash that's becoming an instant cult classic. "newsies" has sold nearly $10 million in tickets and this week was dominated for eight tonys. not bad for a musical based on a movie that bombed. well, now abc's john berman takes us on a singing, dancing tour behind the scenes. >> reporter: what could bring global peace -- ♪ what if a cart wheel could change the world? ♪ you want to stick it to the man? >> yeah. i want to stick it to the man. ♪

>> reporter: what if a song could make people get their news from actual paper? ever bought a paper from a newsy? >> i don't think there are newsies anymore. >> reporter: this is the cast of "newsies," the unlikely show with an imimpossible history. not to mention an impressive arare of twists, turns, jumps and leaps. ♪ it is the more or less true story of a new york city strike in 1899. paper boys holding out for a bigger piece of the pie. it is adapted from the 1992 film of the same name that was more or less a disaster. so cringe-worthy, you can tell its star, an 18-year-old pre-batman christian bale, hates to talk about it.

♪ do you swear you won't forget me ♪ >> i just don't really want to do -- ♪ sante fe ever again. >> reporter: as much of a flop as it was on the big screen, it was a cult hit. a vhs favorite. ♪ i smell money ♪ you smell foul >> reporter: how many times would kids watch it? >> i loved the movie. yeah, i love the movie. >> like a billion times. >> it was everywhere. i remember seeing it so many times as a kid. >> reporter: disney, also the parent company of abc news, which has less dancing, says there was a public outcry for a stage version. >> this is only example, one of the few, where the audience decided they wanted this musical. >> reporter: so, here it is. on broadway, playing to sold out houses. why the success?

forget for a second that newspapers barely seem to exist these days. besides "nightline," where do you get most of your news? >> twitter. >> facebook. >> reporter: whatever the medium, it is a message that seems right for the times. >> it's really about taking your place in the world and making your statement of who you are. and that's certainly what's going on around the world. >> reporter: think occupy wall street, with better choreography. >> anybody can use music and dancing. you're asking the wrong person. >> reporter: check out the tweets. causes finding solidarity with "newsies" that have nothing to do with paper boys. equality for education for all. i'm standing up for women all over the world. emergency equality for all. >> there's one point in the show where we tell the guys, we're not standing for this. you can't continue to rob us and pick pocket us.

we will come together and we will fight you. ♪ we'll stomp all over you >> reporter: you think this is sort of like the official broadway musical of the protest generation? >> absolutely. yeah. >> it's great to be part of a show that celebrates this kind of thing that's going on in our world, of course, all the things that kids are doing now. just to stand up, do what they want to do. ♪ one for all s♪ ♪ and all for one >> reporter: i'm john berman for "nightline" in new york. >> our song and dance man, john berman. thank you for watching abc news. we hope you'll check in for "good morning america." from all of us at abc news, good night america. jimmy kimmel, next. tonight on an all-new "jimmy kimmel live" -- >> happy cinco demy owe, everybody. >> between the super bowl and the 4th of july, we would have no reason to get drunk. so --