Beauty Lou and the Country Beast Show is a Success!

Yvette Cadeaux, Cambridge Correspondent

On Saturday, April 4 at 6:00 p.m. the Cambridge High School Auditorium took on a down-home country flair when children from the Cambridge school district and surrounding areas delighted the audience with the musical Beauty Lou and the Country Beast, part of the Missoula Children’s Theatre Red Truck Tour.

The directing team of Ellis Collier and Grace Nguyen inspired the cast to put on an amazing show. The show was doubly amazing, considering the children only had one week to learn all their lines, choreography, and songs.

The one-week theater workshop and culminating performance were free-of-charge and made possible through a grant awarded to the local group Beyond the Bell.

A packed house, composed mostly of Cambridge residents, filled the Cambridge High School gym. Everyone was charmed by the children singing and dancing their way through a story that was set in a rural town that could have easily been Cambridge. This original take on Beauty and the Beast, featured a beast who was actually a grumpy gold miner.

Collier led the cast playing the character of Buck. Buck was the ringleader of the show, and his strong stage presence gave the show both cohesion and professionalism

Cambridge was the last stop for Collier and Nguyen, who have been touring the country all spring.

According to Emerald Hart, age ten, the experience has made her want to continue to pursue theater in the future.

“I definitely want to do more plays because of this one,” she said. “Everyone made new friends.”

She thought it was especially nice that Collier performed alongside all the child actors.

“He made it fun to do it,” she said.

Hart played the character of “Little Zoe,” one of Beauty Lou’s little sisters. During the performance, she developed a bond with the other members of her on-stage family.

“I’m always going to think of them as my sisters.” she said.