Hot off the presses!

With all the entertainment that’s fit to print, “Newsies” opens this weekend at Ocala Civic Theatre (OCT) and is sure to be a smash hit.

OCT’s season finale brings the theater well into the 21st century with the requisite wow factor to get savvy theatergoers to come back next season. Stylish aesthetics meets detailed stage tech, and timeless relevance, altogether exceeding our expectations.

And if you haven’t heard, the theater’s stage now sports a ceiling-tall high-tech screen projection used to create vivid and super-realistic backdrops. Closeup montages of front pages recall a trope of old Hollywood movies fading into a street scene that will make you feel transported to the late 1800s. The projections, along with movable scaffolding, a replication of an iron gate, a crystal chandelier and other trappings show off Tyler Stentiford’s flair for scenic design.

Both the production team and this crack cast of young folks are newsworthy. Three choreographers contributed their razzle-dazzle and gymnastic flair to shepherding the dance numbers: Maycee Dominguez, profiled last year in the “Gazette,” along with Brooke Loftis and Debbie McCreight, lent their talents, and the kids come through with somersaults, handstands, pliés and other stylish feats.

Watching “Newsies,” we saw director/OCT Artistic Director Greg Thompson in his element, revealing his knack for leading large-scale productions.

It’s not easy to wrangle such a large cast and bevy of techs and designers. From the realistic costumes of Roe Agnese and Erin Sylvester to a live orchestra led by music director/keyboardist/conductor Jason Bartosic to the lighting and sound effects of David Castaneda and Jazmine Whipple to the gut-punching monologues and solo numbers of leads Christian Gonzelez, Megan Wager and Janik Buranosky, “Newsies” is a bold leap for OCT. The dialogue is well-paced, and the musical numbers are rousing and energetic.

And if you’re not one for musicals, you’ll make an exception with the infectious, anthemic tunes in “Newsies.” It’s as if “Rent” had big, harmonic, show-stopping numbers like “Seasons of Love” all through the show.

The play gets its inspiration from Disney’s 1992 musical film, “Newsies,” which was inspired by the real-life Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City. The rollicking musical is set in New York City, and, like the real event, during the summer of 1899.

Jack Kelly (Gonzales) and his posse of newspaper boys, called “newsies,” eke out a living selling newspapers on the city streets. Crutchie (Caleb Lombardo), nicknamed for his “bum leg,” along with Davey (Buranosky) and Davey’s younger brother Les (Liam Ortiz), enlist the rest of the ragtag bunch: Albert (Josiah Santiago), Buttons (Caleb Vang), Finch (Holly Valdez), Henry (Valynn Flaherty), Ike (Makena Henley), Jo Jo (Peighton Labagh), Mush (McKenzie Gradler), Race (Jonathan Leppert), Romeo (Ethan Buss), Specs (Tyler Ruiz), Splasher (Isabelle Gradler), and Tommy Boy (Janea King) to protest the Joseph Pulitzer (James R. Taylor III)’s price hike.

Newspaper upstart Katherine Plumber (Wager) gets wooed by Jack’s surprising artistic flair and romantic charms as she endeavors to elevate herself from the society page to the front page with a breaking story about the newsies’ strike.

Meanwhile, back at the paper, in editor Seitz (Joan Elizabeth McDonald); his bookkeeper, Bunsen (Cheyenne Dever); his secretary, Hannah (Emily McCall); and his personal barber, Nunzio (Gregg Bleam), we see another world more distant and removed from New York’s street poverty than Pulitzer’s nine-story window.

Saloon singer Medda Larkin (Alexis Brinay Medina), who graces the stage with an assured and powerful vocal performance, runs a show with the Bowery Beauties (Emily McCall and Anna Ramage), and offers her theater as a safe haven for Jack and his pals. ‘

With local journalism becoming rarer and rarer these days due to corporate takeovers and TV media outlets harping on one headline for a week, we can all relate to how important it is to have a journalistic watchdog in our corner, a source for news that isn’t in a company’s or politician’s back pocket.

We also can all relate to the greed that fuels labor injustices, which can be swept under the rug without the freedom of speech and the right to demonstrate. These are all timeless issues, problems that multiply in the absence of vigilance, and reasons that the “Newsies” tale continues to resonate.

“Newsies” runs May 4-21 at the Ocala Civic Theatre. There will be 15 performances: 7:30 on Thursdays and Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. For tickets and more information, visit ocalacivictheatre.com.