Monday, March 09, 2026
36.0°F

Missoula Children's Theater brings classic to impromptu stage

JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 1 month AGO
by JOEL MARTINStaff Writer
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | January 12, 2016 5:00 AM

photo

Chance Carter gives some stage directions to the child actors rehearsing for the Missoula Children’s Theatre production of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ at BBCC.

MOSES LAKE — A crowd of about 60 kids danced and sang their way through two performances of “Sleeping Beauty” on Saturday. The shows were the culmination of a week of rehearsals with two actor/directors from Missoula Children’s Theater.

Chance Carter and Alyssa Cooper of MCT arrived last weekend in Moses Lake. On Monday, they held auditions and, of the crowd that showed up, selected 59 kids for the cast as well as four assistant directors. For the next five days, the kids learned their lines, songs and dances, and by Saturday, they were ready to perform.

Ciara Shuttleworth, director of Columbia Basin Allied Arts, had nothing but good things to say about the entire adventure. CBAA brought the MCT program to town as part of its Green Turtle children’s theater series.

“The Missoula Children’s Theater people were great,” she said. “They have total control over the whole thing. All I have to do is deal with the lobby.”

The next show in the GreenTurtle Series is “Curious George,” which takes the stage March i6.

The cast of “Sleeping Beauty”:

Younger Sleeping Beauty: Sarah Dale

Older Sleeping Beauty: Alice Dale

Scarella: Morgan Tolley

Lady-in-Waiting/Madame Butterfly: Rachel Puhlman

King: Ezra Wright

Queen: Kennedy Kilmer

Spot: Lauren Tolley

Town Crier: Abigail Dale

Fairies: Sophie Butterly, Jeniffer Carlson, Madison Dale, Stella Depew, Sophia Gardner, Makenzie Haring, Ana McCabe, Jori Pierce, Grace Selmann, Mckennah Solders, Lexi Stevens, Jenna Whitaker

Trolls:

Will Anderson, Tyson Fuller, Robbie Mensonides, Kyler Pankey, Cody Stutzman, Palace Attendants: Stella Butterly, Courtlynn Cardwell, Mya Dale, David Delp, Celeste Depew, Miranda Dorman, Julia Heaps, Dakota Jensen, Melody Lake, Brendan McLain, Kylie McLauchlan, Carsen Owens, Sophia Persichini, Mayah Puhlman, Chloe Scontrino, Calista Shelton, Paige Tolley, Jocelyn Vasquez

Caterpillars and Butterflies:

Laurelynn Cardwell, Kallee Castillo, Brooklyn Clark, Hannah Cook, Marybel Corona-Oronia, Caitlin Decubber, Kristen Depew, Sarah Estudillo, Sofia Estudillo, Ethan Jensen, Gaberilla Koalitzber, Adriana Kowalski, Grace Nixon, Jayla Pierce, Matti Stevens, Maddie Turner

Assistant directors: Kaylee Carpenter, Azlynn Dutton, Riley Farman, Dolcemia Gardner

Accompanist: Donna Warner

The Jester: Chance Carter

Director: Alyssa Cooper

ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN

Man arrested for arson, assault in Ephrata on Thursday
March 6, 2026 9:37 a.m.

Man arrested for arson, assault in Ephrata on Thursday

EPHRATA — A transient was arrested Thursday morning after allegedly setting fire to an apartment building in Ephrata, according to a statement from the Ephrata Police Department.

‘I thank God for you’
March 9, 2026 3:15 a.m.

‘I thank God for you’

Community Court graduate ready to start new life

EPHRATA — Shannon Robinson never expected to be where he was Wednesday: hugging a judge and walking away a free man. “I’ve been in and out of prison most of my life, with drug addiction being a big part of it,” Robinson said. “I really didn’t know anything other than that. So, every time I got out of prison, I kept going back to the drugs. And there was never any program that I could take advantage of that would show me anything different until this drug court came along. I thought, ‘Well, I’ve tried everything. I might as well try this.’”

2025 sees slight real estate market improvement
March 6, 2026 3 a.m.

2025 sees slight real estate market improvement

KIRKLAND — The real estate market in Washington improved in 2025 compared to the year before, according to data released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which tracks real estate trends in 27 Washington counties. The data is compiled from the work of more than 31,000 real estate brokers in more than 2,400 member offices, according to the NWMLS. Closed sales statewide increased slightly, by 0.21%, in 2025 over 2024, according to the NWMLS data. In Grant County, closed sales increased by 10.8%, and in Adams County by 17.82%.