A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Event Review - Taproot Theatre Seattle, WA 11/30/18
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Taproot Theatre
Seattle, WA
11/30/18
Sarah Diener, Maya Burton, Arika Matoba, Coulson Bingham, Julee Felts and Brad Walker in Taproot Theatre’s 2018 production of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.
Greetings,
It's that time of year as we all know. Every theatre it seems is putting on a holiday production to celebrate in December. Last week Eclectic Arts reviewed the fantastic, "Miss Bennet: Christmas At Pemberley". Equally fantastic was the opening night of the Taproot Theatre tradition, "A Charlie Brown Christmas".
If you love the animated show (the first for Charles M. Schulz and company - check out the documentary on the DVD release - it's fascinating) - you'll absolutely love this production as well!
At first I wasn't quite sure how they were going to translate the 30 minute cartoon classic into a play but as soon as the cast came "skating" in for the opening scene, I smiled and then told myself I should of known better - this is the Taproot Theatre after all and they have yet to disappoint me.
Arika Matoba and Ben Wippel in Taproot Theatre’s 2018 production of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.
The show is geared for all ages of course - running just around 45 minutes or so. The show opened with a few tunes from Steven Tan (Schroeder) and Julee Felts (Pig Pen) before the production officially began.
The show is fairly close to the cartoon - with even some of the dialogue being word for word which I loved. The creative ways to bring the animated special to life were a joy to watch.
The cast of Coulson Bingham (Snoopy), Maya Burton (Frieda), Sarah Diener (Sally), Arika Matoba (Lucy), Brad Walker (Linus), and Ben Wippel (Charlie Brown) were as funny and engaging as you could hope for.
I particularly enjoyed the voice work from Sarah Diener and Arika Matoba - easily bringing me back to my childhood hearing them as Sally and Lucy respectively. So spot on with their deliveries that I couldn't help but smile.
Arika Matoba and Steven Tran in Taproot Theatre’s 2018 production of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.
The whole cast worked so well together that when it was over, you wished there was an act two, heck, or even an act three!
The audience, from children to seniors and everyone in-between, laughed and had a great time. It helped get me in the holiday spirit and I believe it will for you, too.
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" at the Taproot Theatre is another exceptional production. Both shows currently running are worth your time and money. I'm heading back to see "Miss Bennet: Christmas At Pemberley" next week and I'd love to go back to see, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" as well.
Ben Wippel, Coulson Bingham, Brad Walker, Sarah Diener and Arika Matoba in Taproot Theatre’s 2018 production of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.
See you at the theatre!
Happy Holidays!
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts
Special Thanks: Isaiah for the credentials and the reservations - thank you so much for the opportunity!
The show runs through December 27th. Don't miss it!
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