Breckenridge’s National Theatre’s summer camp to present ‘Beauty Lou and the Country Beast’ at 2 p.m. today, June 20
The kids participating in the National Theatre of Breckenridge’s annual Missoula Children’s Theatre summer theater camp will present “Beauty Lou and the Country Beast” at 2 p.m. today, Saturday, June 20, at the theater, 116 E. Walker St. in downtown Breckenridge.
Audrey Turnage, left, and Carina Rae Hoelscher, second from right, help theater camp participants with their costumes before the dress rehearsal on Friday, June 19. Click here to see more photos from the dress rehearsal. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Admission is free and open to the public.
The participants have been working on the production all week with Audrey Turnage, a tour director with MCT, and Carina Rae Hoelscher, a tour actor with MCT.
The Missoula Children’s Theatre touring productions arrive in town each year complete with costumes, scenery and props. MCT tour actors and directors conduct auditions and rehearsals throughout the week with local children and then lead the final production at the end of the week.
This year’s play, “Beauty Lou and the Country Beast,” is an original country western adaptation of the classic fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast.” Beauty Lou is the oldest daughter of the bronc-bustin’ balladeer Buckaroo Bonnie, aka “Buck.” At the local county fair, young Beauty Lou is upset by the ungrateful behavior of a miner who has won the blue ribbon for his beautiful roses. She calls him a beast and wishes that he would look like one, too. Years later, when in danger of losing the family farm, Buck meets the miner-turned-beast. Beauty Lou agrees to befriend the Beast to save her family. Beauty Lou and the Beast both learn to look beyond appearances and first impressions and to see the beauty that dwells inside. The story, set in the American West, also features Beauty Lou’s six sisters, her Imaginary Friend, her dog Fleabite Clyde, farmhands Slim and Dusty, the neighborly Country Folk and the Barnyard Critters.
The cast of the local production includes:
Beauty Lou & The Country Beast Cast
Beauty Lou: Brantley McKay
Beast: Leeland Hamilton
Imaginary Friend: Shane Halari
Young Beauty Lou: Savannah Halari
Slim: Caleb Windsor
Dusty: Jayden Rosemann
Clyde: Elsie Freeman
Older Daughters:
Sally Mae: Sarah Moreno
Donna Rae: Aurora Dawson
Sandy Dee: Lydia Moreno
Barbie Lee: Joy Griffith
Bobby Joe: Adelaide Hamilton
Little Zoe: Berkley White
Younger Daughters:
Sally Mae: Emma Tennison
Donna Rae: Kiffany Crawford
Sandy Dee: Betty Ann Pitzer
Barbie Lee: Codie Perry
Bobby Joe: Sage Parker
Little Zoe: Kailyn Wiggins
Country Folk: Ryker Hamilton, Cara Sims, Owen Griffith, Britta Miller, Evelyn Halari, Lexington Boulevard, Tristyn Stafford and Calvin Cornwall
Critters: John Tyler Griffith, Madeline Ball, Levi Cornwall, Isla Reckling, Eli Halari, Koree Crawford, Corley White, Aspen Johnson, Trinitee Stafford and Emerson Boulevard
Buck: Carina Hoelscher
Director: Audrey Turnage
Accompanist: Anna Moreno
Slim (Caleb Windsor) and Dusty (Jayden Rosemann) whoop it up at the County Fair in “Beauty Lou and the Country Beast.” The local production will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 20. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
MCT first partnered with the Breckenridge community in 2015 and has returned annually, with the exception of a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has become a summer tradition, offering young performers an opportunity to develop confidence, creativity and collaboration skills.
Some of the previous productions have included “Hercules!” in 2025, “Treasure Island” in 2024, “King Arthur’s Quest” in 2023, “The Frog Prince” in 2022, “The Snow Queen” in 2019 and “Gulliver’s Travels” in 2018.
For more information, visit the Friends of Historic Breckenridge website or the National Theatre of Breckenridge’s Facebook page.
The Breckenridge cast of “Beauty Lou and the Country Beast” pose for a group photo after the dress rehearsal on Friday, June 19. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: The “Country Folk” dance at the county fair during the dress rehearsal for Breckenridge’s production of “Beauty Lou and the Country Beast,” presented by the National Theatre of Breckenridge and the Missoula Children’s Theatre. Click here to see more pictures from the rehearsal. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
