For the first main stage production in the 2023-24 season, Theater Works will present the Tony award winning “Newsies,” July 14-30 in the Gyder Theater at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts, 10580 N. 83rd Drive.

The theater will be offering a complete 6-show season from its reduced 2022-23 season. Newsies is full of incredible dancing and singing to tell the story of the newsie strike of 1899, according to a news release.

“Disney has done it again with the creation of this foot stomping, toe tapping high energy musical,” Executive Director Chris Hamby said.

Disney’s “Newsies,” based on the 1992 motion picture, features music by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “Sister Act”), lyrics by Jack Feldman and a book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein (“La Cage aux Folles,” “Torch Song Trilogy”).

“Newsies” is inspired by the real-life Newsboy Strike of 1899, when newsboy, Kid Blink led a band of orphan and runaway newsboys on a two-week-long action against Pulitzer, Hearst, and other powerful newspaper publishers. Timely and fresh, the fictionalized adaptation of Newsies addresses age-old themes of social injustice, exploitative labor practices, and David-versus-Goliath struggles as the young learn to harness their power against a corrupt establishment.

While on Broadway, “Newsies” received 23 major theatrical nominations – including eight Tony Award nods – and won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for score and choreography.

They delivered the papers, until they made the headlines... “Newsies” has audiences and critics alike calling it “a musical worth singing about!” (The New York Times). Filled with one heart-pounding number after another, it’s a high-energy explosion of song and dance you won’t want to miss. Based on true events, “Newsies” tells the captivating story of a band of underdogs who become unlikely heroes when they stand up to the most powerful men in New York.

It’s a rousing tale about fighting for what’s right and staying true to who you are.

This production is directed by Hamby with music direction by Lincoln Wright and choreography by Paul Pedersen and Cydney Trent.

Tickets are $40-48 and are available at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts box office or online at boxoffice@theaterworks.org.

Those interested in season packages can convert single tickets to season subscriptions. The full Theater Works season will be announced at the annual gala on March 18, 2023. Gala tickets are available on the Theater Works website or by calling the box office.

For more information about Theater Works, visit theaterworks.org.

For ticket information, call the box office at 623-815-7930. For ADA seating, also call the box office.