Street Of Dreams Jr. Theatre To Present Disney's 'Newsies Jr.'

MOKENA, IL — Extra! Extra! Mokena-based Street of Dreams Jr. Theatre is getting ready to raise the curtain on their production of the hit Disney musical "Newsies Jr." Showtimes are scheduled for noon and 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday at Lincoln-Way Central High School, 1801 E. Lincoln Highway.

The musical is based on the 1992 film "Newsies" and the 2012 Broadway musical of the same name.

The Street of Dreams Jr. performance will feature a cast of 59 children who range in age from 6-17 years old, according to Co-Director Aimee Jarzembowski. She is joined by Karen Bussean as co-director.

The performers were split to form two separate casts — The Bulletin cast and The Gazette cast — each with a noon and 4 p.m. performance in order to make sure each child gets ample opportunity on stage, Jarzembowski said.

"We always have a lot of talent," Jarzembowski said. "So, instead of cutting children or making them feel like they're not important, we created two casts. ... That created more opportunities to give them parts."

Rehearsals began in mid-July, and the cast has been hard at work learning all the different songs and dance routines in the musical.

"Newsies Jr." is based on actual events that happened during the newsboys' strike of 1899 in New York City, when a group of young newspaper sellers got organized to get better wages from newspaper magnates Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph.

That labor movement was seen as an empowering moment for young people, as is the musical "Newsies Jr.," Jarzembowski said.

"This is the first show, I feel like, that we have done that is a show that is so strong that these kids actually ending up connecting to," Jarzembowski said.

Tickets for "Newsies Jr." are now on sale. Follow this link to purchase tickets. For more information, visit the Street of Dreams Jr. Theatre website.