Disney's 'Wizards' co-stars coming to Naperville

If Harper Finkle were picking out an outfit for Naperville's Last Fling, she might slip into a funnel cake hat and some corn dog earrings.

One never knows what the shy but quirky character in the Disney Channel's "The Wizards of Waverly Place" series might show up wearing, but more than 1,000 kids will get to find out firsthand Sunday at Naperville's end-of-summer festival.

"I'm sure she would incorporate as many of the foods as she possibly could," said Jennifer Stone, 16, who plays Harper Finkle, a character known for her themed attire. "If I had to wear a (Last Fling) outfit, David Henrie would have to wear one with me because he'll be there too."

Stone and Henrie, who plays Justin on the popular show, will greet fans from 3 to 5 p.m. at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St.

Stone began acting at age 6 and has done voice-over work and various commercial spots.

In "Wizards," her Harper is best friends with Alex Russo, a teen wizard played by Selena Gomez. Henrie's Justin is Alex's older brother. Stone and the cast reprised their roles in the Disney Channel Original movie "The Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie," which premiered Friday.

Stone grew up in the Dallas-Forth Worth suburb of Arlington, Texas, a town almost three times the size of Naperville.

In a recent phone interview, she talked about her character's eccentric style, coming to grips with being a dork in real life and her first trip to Chicago this weekend.

Q. How did you get into acting?

A. I wanted to be just like my older brother who was in the theater, and I would go to his rehearsals. I got into theater and it naturally progressed from there. My mom and I joke that it's a hobby that got way out of control.

Q. Do you sing also?

A. I started in theater and musical theater is kind of inevitable in any sort of theater group that you're in. But I'm not a big pop singer. It's not my favorite kind of music and I don't sing it well. Yeah, the only time you'll ever see me sing is if I get the opportunity to be on Broadway.

Q. Harper and Alex are very different people. You fight, you make up, you team up against the popular girls. What do you hope this show says about teen friendship?

A. I really hope it says that you can have little scuffles - people do, it's par for the course - but at the end of the day, you'll still be there for each other. I think the most important part about friendship is that at the end of the day, no matter what you argued about during the day or what differences you may have, you always have each other's backs when each other really needs it.

Q. Are there any other lessons the show carries for the typical suburban preteen?

A. I think the characters all really embrace who they are. Justin really embraces being the sort of academic. Alex embraces being artistic. Harper embraces being kind of a nutbag. So I really think the show is really good for people who are very much individuals, whether they embrace it or not, and sort of embellishing that. So I'm really proud of that, that we can really encourage kids to be who they are.

Q. Harper wears a lot of crazy outfits with themes. What do you think of your costumes?

A. I love my costumes. For me, the crazier the better. It's all for the sake of comedy, so if I can get a laugh by wearing a tiger on my shoulder, I will totally do that. So, for me, the nuttier, the better.

Q. What is your own style like?

A. I kind of go back in forth with my style. I'm influenced by whatever music I'm listening to or whatever movie I just watched. Sometimes I like really sweet things, but I like to add really tough accessories.

Q. Have you ever wished you could work magic in real life?

A. Oh yeah. There's a lot of times where I've had word vomit of the mouth and I say things and then I think, "That was really stupid. I don't know why I just said that. And I don't know why I'm still talking." There's a lot of times I wish I could go back a little bit and sort of rewind and not sound like a dork. But I'm not magical, so I guess I just have to live with my dorkiness.

Q. How do you think Harper has changed since she found out the Russo kids are wizards?

A. I think it's really brought Harper and Alex closer together. Now that she knows about her being a wizard, it lets them be involved in each other's lives more. I really love it. I love the dynamic. We get to explore more of our friendship on the show.

Q. What's it like playing out your character's crush on Justin (David Henrie)?

A. It's kind of weird. He's like my older brother, so it's very odd. It kind of feels like "The Brady Bunch" a little bit. It's fun. He and I both have a lot of fun with it. We kind of make each other laugh and things like that. We try to push each other. So whenever we have the crush stuff we try to make each other as uncomfortable as possible and we can't stop laughing.

Q. "The Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie" recently premiered. What is Harper's story line and how have people reacted to the movie?

A. Alex doesn't want to go on vacation with the family, and Harper is sort of trying to give her a scapegoat so she doesn't have to (go), but things don't exactly pan out. So she sort of gives her a "bon voyage" and an "I'm sorry" that she doesn't get to escape from her family. We tried to make it an extension of the show. I'm really happy with the way things turned out.

Q. What are you doing at Last Fling this weekend?

A. We're there to have fun with the fans in Chicago and just be really involved with the whole festival. David and I are going to try to be involved in as much as possible and just hang out with the fans and enjoy the fans.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/wizardsofwaverlyplace/">'Wizards of Waverly Place' home page</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>