Broadway: the location for North Haven’s Jared Andrew Studio for the Performing Arts’ youth production of “Guys and Dolls Jr.” this May.

Of course, this Broadway extends from State Street to Route 103, instead of running parallel to the Hudson River. However, the abridged adaptation of the classic musical put on by the children’s theater will have all the same character and charm as the Manhattan version.

The play, which follows two New York gamblers as they attempt to go straight for love, will open May 5 at the old firehouse at 26 Broadway, and will run for 10 performances through May 17. The cast includes 45 kids, aged 5 to 18, according to co-producer Jared Andrew.

The play has been double cast, meaning that parts will alternate actors on different nights. The kids have the option to appear in both productions – a lead in one performance may be a backup dancer in the next.

“It keeps kids busy and gives them a chance to do what they love,” Andrew said of the casting decision.

The kids have been rehearsing for three months, Andrew said, with upwards of 15 hours of practice a week. The abridged, “junior-version” of “Guys and Dolls” will run an hour and a half with intermission. The play will feature acting, singing, and dancing and is only the second production of Andrew’s children’s theater after a previous production of “School House Rock” songs.

Andrew would like to stage five children’s productions a year in addition to adult performances, as he has enjoyed the process. “The kids love it,” the co-producer said, “and I have learned a lot from them.”

Andrew, who runs his studio with partner Patrick Laffin, said that the children’s theater came to him in an “epiphany” when giving lessons to a gifted vocalist. “I realized that there were not enough places where you could put talented kids on stage,” he said.

The performance will take place upstairs in the firehouse in a “black box” setting. In this mode of theater, the audience surrounds the stage, which is on a similar level as the audience creating a more intimate feeling, Andrew said.

On a historical note, the production will mark the first show in the old firehouse in over 75 years, according to Andrew. The firehouse, which once held town dances and performances in a small auditorium, has since been converted into office space. Andrew had been staging plays on High Lane, and will continue to do so, but decided to put on small, youth plays upstairs in the firehouse after he relocated his offices to the Broadway address.

“Right when I walked in, I could sense the energy in the building,” Andrew said of the firehouse. “It screams ‘put on a show.’” Andrew also appreciated how the architect worked to keep the feeling that the structure was once a firehouse. “He used the natural beauty of the building,” the producer said of the builder.

Andrew said that the location is nostalgic for his pupils’ parents. “They love it,” he said of the adults. “A lot of parents of my kids were born in town. They come up and it brings them back to when they had parties and dances in the firehouse’s auditorium.”

And if nothing else, the address provides the perfect boast for his young thespians, assuming nobody asks them to elaborate.

“Now kids can say they are performing on Broadway,” Andrew joked. “The kids are really excited.”

The play’s funding is provided by the Jamie A. Hulley Arts Foundation. Tickets to “Guys and Dolls” are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. To purchase tickets, call the studio at (203) 464-8212. For additional information, including show times, visit www.jaredandrew.com.