Missoula Children's Theatre Performs Saturday

Audiences of all ages will get a fresh look at an old favorite this Saturday, Feb. 1, when the Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT) and more than 50 local students present “Beauty Lou and the Country Beast,” an original country western adaptation of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast.

Beauty Lou and the Country Beast will being at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Sidney High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $13 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for students including Western Nebraska Community College students and children under 5 are free. Tickets ˜will also be sold at the door.

Although this updated rendition features a host of fun new characters and situations it still teachers the same valuable lesson — look beyond appearances and first impressions to see the beauty within.

MCT has been “helping kids reach a new stage” for 48 years, and works with 65,000 children in more than 1,200 communities in all 50 states and 17 countries each year. The MCT first brought their tour to Sidney in 1986.

Lydia Michelle, a graduate of Sight and Sound Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Lancaster, Penn., and Ashley Rose Klimper, a graduate of the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City, are the MCT Tour Actor/Directors for this weekend's production. On their five month tour, which began in December, Michelle and Klimper stay with host families in 14 communities in four states.

The Missoula Children's Theatre residency in Sidney is presented locally by the High Plains Arts Council with support from the Nebraska Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

The Beauty Lou and the Country Beast cast features Kennedy Hobson and Chloe Berger as Beauty Lou, Patrick Mars as Beast, and Jay Koozer as Imaginary Friend. Lucas Booe will play faithful friend Fleabite Clyde, the dog, and Kealyn Mortensen and Evelyn Revell will play Dusty and Slim, the helpful farmhands. Hannah Ernst, Kourtney Keller, Nayeli Haynes, Autumn Wolfe, Laurel Dadgostar, and Gracie Lefferts will play the Younger Daughters, and Samantha Stokes, Gabby Rittenhouse, Katarina Jallen, Rachel Berger, Jordan DeNovellis, and Madi Packer will be the Older Daughters. Megan McCartney, Naomi Bartling, Jasper Gulbranson, Matthew Corne, Josi Witte, Kyndell Kesselring, Sawyer Knoll, Marley Hernandez, Reagan Fish, Auriella Walters, Jenju Peters, Grayson Hashman, Brooklyn Heater, Kinslee Lewis, Austin Hurt, Adrianna Lundgren, Cilla Hollingshead, Lillian Dyson, Abigail Mars, Lydia Mars, Raeanne Morales, Scarlett Curry, Raelee Fankhauser-Smith, Ravyn Cottam, and Jelena Miller are the Country Folk. Rounding out the cast are Kyler Herboldsheimer, Cwen Bondegard, Hope Michelman, Olivia Misegadis, Khaydence Blundell, Kennedy Watchorn, Breckyn Hobson, Jade Gulbranson, Madison Bentley, Arynn Weimar, Abigail Martens, Delon Ogden, Ayah Miller, Cameron Havorka, Javen Escobar, and Noah Mars as Barnyard Critters. Ciena Mckenzie, Saphira Whitley, Landon Haynes, and Danay Peters are serving as Asst. Directors.