Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Troy University’s Department of Theatre and Dance is set to debut its rendition of Disney’s 1992 hit musical “Newsies” on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Claudia Crosby Theater.

“Newsies” is the unlikely headline-grabbing story of a group of underdogs fighting for justice and humanity against a skyscraping capitalistic patriarchy more concerned with the day’s numbers and headlines that sell than the people who make things happen. In the end, truth and humanity prevail through common ground, shared purpose and an unyielding belief in the dream of life, freedom and happiness being afforded to all.

“They want to be treated fairly. They want to be treated humanely. This was a show that mattered,” said Tori Lee Averett, assistant dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts and lead di-rector/choreographer.

“This quote by Margaret Mead hit me between the eyes when I was trying to describe its signifi-cance to the company,” Averett said. “‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.’ When you’re talking about making positive change, all of us can do something. Even those of us who are younger or poorer or in the minority of the conversation. That change comes from those people standing up to speak out about something that they believed in.”

Averett said what she loves most about “Newsies” is it highlights the younger generations and their power to change the world.

“We’re in a time where our younger generations—our college and high school students and even children, in some instances—are making us rethink the way that we’re taking care of the world and the way that we do things, and that’s what we need. I’m always so proud of our students who stand up to ask questions or stand up to try to find a different way forward, and this is sort of a celebra-tion of that youthful resilience and courage.

Shows begin nightly at 7 p.m. March 3-6 in the Claudia Crosby Theater. 

Tickets can be purchased online or at the Trojan Center Box Office by the Barnes and Noble Bookstore. General admission tickets are $10, and tickets purchased with a student ID are $5.