The teenage newsboys who once hawked papers on New York street corners are dancing their way onto a South Side stage, and their fight feels anything but old-fashioned.
At the Beverly Arts Center, Disney’s Newsies bursts to life with pounding tap numbers, tight harmonies and a story rooted in real history. Inspired by the Newsboys’ Strike of 1899, the musical follows a band of working-class kids who decide they have had enough and take on two of the most powerful newspaper publishers in the country.
The show, based on the 1992 Disney film starring Christian Bale and later adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway hit, centers on Jack Kelly, a charismatic dreamer with a knack for rallying a crowd. When publishing giants Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the expense of the newsboys, Jack and his friends organize a strike. What begins as frustration grows into a movement built on solidarity, grit and the belief that even kids can demand to be heard.
Under the direction of Melody DeRogatis, the Beverly production leans into the show’s athletic choreography and infectious score. Songs like “Seize the Day” and “King of New York” land with punch, but the quieter moments, when the newsies question whether they can really win, give the story its emotional weight.
After the final bow, the conversation continues.
On Saturday, Feb. 28, the arts center at 2407 W. 111th St., Chicago, will host “Power of the Press,” a post-show panel that ties the 1899 strike to the realities of journalism today. Moderated by Tracey Baim of Press Forward Chicago at the Chicago Community Trust, the discussion brings together local media voices, including Kelly White of Southwest Publishing, Malik Jackson of the South Side Weekly, DeRogatis and Jen Sabella of Block Club Chicago.
Instead of leaving audiences humming show tunes on the way to the parking lot, organizers are inviting them to sit down and talk about what it means to report the news in 2026. Panelists plan to share how they got started, how the industry has shifted and what young reporters, much like the newsies themselves, are up against in a fast-changing media landscape.
The pairing feels intentional. Newsies may be filled with leaps and spins, but at its core it is about access to information, economic power and the people who tell the stories. In 1899, kids pushed back against publishing tycoons. Today, journalists navigate shrinking newsrooms, digital platforms and questions about trust.
By placing a real-world journalism discussion right after a musical about young people fighting for fairness, the Beverly Arts Center turns a night at the theater into something more layered, part entertainment and part civic conversation.
It is a reminder that while the headlines may change, the fight to be heard never really does.