Extra! Read all about it! Newspaper art joins Rochester Civic Theatre's coming 'Newsies' show

Aug. 31—ROCHESTER — It was a fast turnaround, but local artists managed to produce 32 newspaper-themed artworks to be put on display at Rochester Civic Theatre ahead of its coming production of "Newsies." The works were installed on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.

RCT partnered with Marie Marvin to rally artists and gather artwork. Marvin, who formerly owned Crossings Arts in Zumbrota and now is the theater's art director, still has many connections to local artists and was excited to take on the task.

"I just sent it out to all of our artists, and then we also put it in the newspaper, and we sent out emails to anybody we knew and it was like a fast turnover," Marvin said. "They only had six weeks, so I didn't know if we'd get enough, but it was summer, so that helped."

Worried at first, Marvin says she was confident her community would come together and create amazing work — a feeling she says was confirmed when she saw the finished products.

"The funniest thing was, I got a text one day from Carol, who did the rhino painting," Marvin said. "She said, 'I'm having so much fun playing with this show and every day, when the newspaper comes in the mail, I think, Oh, goody, more art supplies.'"

Marvin, her siblings and Vicki Blazing were tasked with installing all 32 pieces of art. Artists are from all over Minnesota, with a majority from Rochester. Each artist was allowed to submit one to three pieces and there was no age limit, so there is work from children, teenagers and adults.

In addition to being on display in the lobby of the theater, all of the artwork is also for sale. It's a great opportunity for local artists to show their work and maybe make some money.

"One thing that would be really helpful would be if some of the work sold," Marvin said. "If some of the work sells, then more artists are going to care more about bringing things to the show, because they need to sell work."

"Newsies" opens Sept. 19 and runs through Oct. 6. More information about it and other upcoming productions can be found at www.rochestercivictheatre.org, or call 507-282-8481.

Marvin and Blazing have already served notice for another exhibit tied to RCT's coming production of "Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors." That production will run from Oct. 21 to Nov. 26, 2024, and the concept of each art piece should be "Battleground: Good vs Evil."