Editorial: Thanks to Barbara Miller for bringing Missoula back

Barbara Rogalle Miller, one of the founders of the Belleville Area Council for the Arts, is known for having good ideas and pursuing projects. She’s likely to turn the projects over to others to complete, since she also has a knack for administration.
The Missoula Children’s Theatre is one of her recent projects. It’s under way this week at McBride Middle School, where local children are rehearsing for this Saturday’s presentation of “The Jungle Book” under the direction of a team from Missoula, Montana.
Missoula had come to this area every year from 1992-1999, putting on the shows with local children in Sumpter, with Mary Herring making sure things were in place. Then it was gone until Nov. 14, 2018 when BACA approved Missoula to come for “The Pied Piper” in May 2019. That was a bad year for group projects and the show didn’t happen and it’s been gone since.
Now it’s back and a large group of youngsters gathered on Monday to audition for parts in “The Jungle Book.” They are practicing every day this week and presenting their shows on Saturday at 3 and 5 p.m. Tickets are available at the door for $5 for adults and $2 for children.
Harry Van Gelder is doing a lot of the work on this project and has put on fund-raisers to help pay for the hefty cost of the program. Thank you, Barbara and Harry, and all the other volunteers. Welcome back, Missoula Theatre. We missed you.