CONWAY – As expected, the A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live On Stage was an absolute delight.
The traveling production made a stop last Saturday at the Reynolds Performance Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas and while it was listed as a sellout, the balcony, in particular, had rows and rows of empty seats.
The traveling show, produced by Gershwin Entertainment, starred Connor Barr as Charlie Brown.
Curtis Brown photos
And Barr, above, delivered a knockout performance, singing and dancing and directing his way across the stage.
Others in the cast included: Megan Mistretta as Lucy; Alex Polzun as Snoopy; Arturo Guadalupe Hernandez as Linus; Calvin Wakefield Kaleel as Pig Pen (and bassist); James Appleton Woods III as Schroeder; Kristen Amanda Vargas Smith as Patty; Marlina Brown as Sally Brown; Stephanie Craven as Violet; Hannah Roberts as Frieda; Matt Rapiejko as the drummer; and, Kaitlyn Thomas and Carson Zoch are swings.
Polzun’s performance as Snoopy, above, was especially athletic as he did gymnastic tricks to get “bones' ' as treats.
Just like Snoopy.
The production, at least for the first act, strongly mirrored the Charles Schulz television special it is based on. Some stage innovations were done to get around the lack of a frozen pond where the Peanuts gang went ice skating in the show.
The show added some features though with a new duet by Barr as Charlie and Hernandez as Linus about picking out the tree, A Christmas Tree like Me, that then turned into an all-cast performance before going to intermission.
The second half saw some breaks from the special as Lucy finally got to be Christmas Queen which led to the traditional special ending, with the Peanuts gang gathered around singing, that however, transitioned into the Christmas play that Charlie was tasked with directing in the special but never seen.
The play was a mix of Christmas songs and Charlie being the show’s star.
The show ended with the cast coming on stage to wish the audience a Merry Christmas and more music.
Two of the show’s performers did double duty as Kaleel, who played Pig Pen, also played the bass going back and forth from the stage to his instrument while Woods, as Schroeder, stayed behind the piano, while also delivering some key lines.
As a person who has seen the Charlie Brown special hundreds of times, has a home covered in Peanuts Christmas items and has even been to the Schulz museum in Santa Rosa, California, which is also a delight, the show delivered.
Charlie Brown Christmas debuted in 1965, years before I was born, the special has been as big a part of the holiday, to me, as hanging a stocking.
So seeing the live performance felt like a bucket list accomplishment and it feels like, if shows are driveable, an annual tradition.
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Bucket List: Charlie Brown delivers
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CONWAY – As expected, the A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live On Stage was an absolute delight.
The traveling production made a stop last Saturday at the Reynolds Performance Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas and while it was listed as a sellout, the balcony, in particular, had rows and rows of empty seats.
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The traveling show, produced by Gershwin Entertainment, starred Connor Barr as Charlie Brown.
And Barr, above, delivered a knockout performance, singing and dancing and directing his way across the stage.
Others in the cast included: Megan Mistretta as Lucy; Alex Polzun as Snoopy; Arturo Guadalupe Hernandez as Linus; Calvin Wakefield Kaleel as Pig Pen (and bassist); James Appleton Woods III as Schroeder; Kristen Amanda Vargas Smith as Patty; Marlina Brown as Sally Brown; Stephanie Craven as Violet; Hannah Roberts as Frieda; Matt Rapiejko as the drummer; and, Kaitlyn Thomas and Carson Zoch are swings.
Polzun’s performance as Snoopy, above, was especially athletic as he did gymnastic tricks to get “bones' ' as treats.
Just like Snoopy.
The production, at least for the first act, strongly mirrored the Charles Schulz television special it is based on. Some stage innovations were done to get around the lack of a frozen pond where the Peanuts gang went ice skating in the show.
The show added some features though with a new duet by Barr as Charlie and Hernandez as Linus about picking out the tree, A Christmas Tree like Me, that then turned into an all-cast performance before going to intermission.
The second half saw some breaks from the special as Lucy finally got to be Christmas Queen which led to the traditional special ending, with the Peanuts gang gathered around singing, that however, transitioned into the Christmas play that Charlie was tasked with directing in the special but never seen.
The play was a mix of Christmas songs and Charlie being the show’s star.
The show ended with the cast coming on stage to wish the audience a Merry Christmas and more music.
Two of the show’s performers did double duty as Kaleel, who played Pig Pen, also played the bass going back and forth from the stage to his instrument while Woods, as Schroeder, stayed behind the piano, while also delivering some key lines.
As a person who has seen the Charlie Brown special hundreds of times, has a home covered in Peanuts Christmas items and has even been to the Schulz museum in Santa Rosa, California, which is also a delight, the show delivered.
Charlie Brown Christmas debuted in 1965, years before I was born, the special has been as big a part of the holiday, to me, as hanging a stocking.
So seeing the live performance felt like a bucket list accomplishment and it feels like, if shows are driveable, an annual tradition.