(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Disney's Newsies, MPAC's spring production, will feature a cast of over 50 young performers from Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Essex and other surrounding counties. Newsies takes the MPAC stage for five performances, Friday, May 30 – Sunday, June 1, 2025.

Based on the real-life Newsboy Strike of 1899, this musical tells the story of Jack Kelly, a rebellious newsboy who dreams of a life as an artist away from the big city. After publishing giant Joseph Pulitzer raises newspaper prices at the newsboys' expense, Kelly and his fellow newsies take action.

Tickets are $35-$57 (all fees included) and are available for purchase online. Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) is located at 100 South Street in Morristown, New Jersey.

The show will be directed by Cathy Roy. Music Direction by Charles Santoro.

Performing in the lead role of Jack Kelly is Aidan Buneta. Aidan is senior at Hanover Park High School.  Last spring he played Gaston in MPAC’s Beauty and the Beast! Aidan will pursue musical theater at Marymount Manhattan College in the fall. “The experiences I have had and the people I have met here at MPAC have changed my life,” he says.

Isabella Royle portrays Katharine. She is a junior at South Brunswick High School and has been performing since the fourth grade.

Other key roles will be performed by Allie Cimaglia (“Medda”) of Whippany, Zion Pearson (“Crutchie”) of Morristown, and Logan Ebersole (“Davey) of Somerset.

Disney’s Newsies is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

Trend Motors is the proud lead sponsor of MPACs spring production of Newsies.

Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2024-2025 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the F.M. Kirby Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. Mayo Performing Arts Center was named 2016 Outstanding Historic Theatre by the League of Historic American Theatres, and is ranked in the top 50 mid-sized performing arts centers by Pollstar Magazine.