Missoula

Michael Garret'28

Here in Greenport, we take great pride in our theatre productions. You’ve read my ramblings before about ‘how we get the whole high school involved’ and such, but you may not know that our elementary students have their own show once a year. Missoula, named after the Montana town where it was founded, is an international touring theater program that gives elementary students some of their first opportunities to perform on stage. 

The troupe comes for just one school week, holding auditions, practices, and dress rehearsals to get the up-and-coming actors ready for the big show on Friday Evening. Missoula arrives with all of the necessities for the play, including costumes and backdrops- some of you may have even seen the red Missoula trucks around town!

This year's show, for both Greenport and Oysterponds one week later, is Beauty Lou and the Country Beast, a southern spin on the classic fairy tale. Beauty Lou begins by disliking a miner for his ungrateful behavior, wishing he looked like the beast he acts like. Some time later, she calls upon him for help saving the family farm. Their unlikely friendship goes to show that you should never judge someone by a first impression, and to find the goodness in everyone. The story also includes a large cast of quirky characters, including Beauty Lou’s six sisters, her Imaginary Friend, her dog Fleabite Clyde, farmhands Slim and Dusty, the neighborly Country Folk, and the Barnyard Critters, a large set of supporting roles to make sure all the students can get involved. George, actor for the Beast in the Oysterponds productions, says, “Missoula was fun. It had amazing costumes and lines. Everything came together in the end.”

Although it only lasts a week, Missoula is looked forward to by students year-round. You could say that the ‘Drama Bug’ has made its way through the elementary school, and their excitement grows to join the full-scale production when they reach junior high.