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Tonya Papanikolas ReportingThe show must go on for a group of kids in Tooele trying to put on a musical. The kids have a set, props, and lines to learn, but no costumes. Someone stole the costumes just days before the big show.
The director said they haven't told all the kids yet, they just keep hoping they'll turn up.
Last year, kids in Tooele performed The Jungle Book as part of the Missoula Children's Theatre. The traveling company visits cities across the United States, getting kids involved in their shows.
Hannah Christopherson: "I think it's really fun."
Ariane Christopherson, Mother: "I think it gives the children self-esteem when they get to be in a play. And they work really hard and they sing and they dance."
This week the theater company came back to Tooele to put on a country version of "Beauty and the Beast," but they quickly ran into a problem.
Elyse Milligan, Missoula Children's Theatre: "When I came out here I looked in and I realized we had all of our costumes gone."
The tour staff had parked their truck in their hotel parking lot. Overnight, someone broke in and stole all of the costumes.
Elyse Milligan: "Obviously, it's upsetting. This is our stuff, this is our livelihood and it's for children."
Ariane Christopherson, Mother of Performer: "It's shocking. I just don't understand why someone would want to do that. It's really sad."
The theater company thinks the thief probably expected to get away with cash.
Elyse Milligan: "I guess it's probably a pretty good surprise to them that they opened one of our bags and found cow and pig costume heads."
The musical is scheduled for Saturday. The kids may be able to get costumes from another theater tour. If not, a Tooele seamstress has volunteered to help make new costumes.
While rehearsals continue, one little actress had a message for the thief.
Hannah Christopherson, Performer: "I would tell them to not steal another thing from here."
The thief also took 15-hundred dollars worth of t-shirts that the theater company sells to bring in money, plus a box full of the show's scripts and musical scores. Earlier this week, a Tooele citizen found those scripts dumped in a nearby field.
