Theatre based on Peanuts comic strip to captivate Revelstoke kids

The gang of Peanuts is back and headed to Revelstoke this Saturday, Nov 14. It seems loveable loser Charlie Brown has found himself in another pickle, trying hard to get the attention of the Little Red-Haired Girl.

Join the Peanuts gang and come along for this theatre performance for kids at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre. Photo: Publicity shot.

Based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, Kelowna’s Bumbershoot Children’s Theatre company invites Revelstoke kids and parents to come along to their entertaining visual extravaganza You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre.

Revelstoke’s audience will join Charlie, his faithful dog Snoopy and friends Lucy, Schroeder and Linus, in a story of wild optimism and utter despair. It features battles with kites, blankets, school, and baseball and during the journey the Peanuts gang slowly begins to realize what it is that makes them happy.

“It’s done in cartoon fashion,” artistic director Tracy Ross said. “Small vignettes highlighted with Broadway style numbers. It is fast-pasted, fun and quirky.”

Bumbershoot Theatre’s goal is to introduce youth and children to, what it describes as, “the incomparable magic of theatre.” They performed this Peanuts show successfully back in May and one pleased reviewer, on Facebook, said the show was fantastic. “My three year old niece was thrilled. Very well done!”

Jarred Stephen as Charlie and Tia Rose Hatley-Webster as Lucy perform in the May performance of this classic Peanuts story. Photo: Trance Blackman.

The performances stimulates children’s imagination with an abundance of colour, sound and movements, but Ross said this particular show isn’t interactive.

“Charlie Brown is done in two acts and the challenge, usually, for the smallest audience is how long they can sit for,” she said. “It is high energy and colourful but really it is generally best left up to a parent to know whether their little one can sit and be an active listening audience member. We have all ages that come to our shows.”

Bumbershoot Theatre is not-for-profit organization and their goal is “to move children and youth towards a world of imagination and creativity while teaching and fostering improved communication, critical thinking, social skills, core values and improved self-esteem.”

The company was launched in 2009 by Ross and has been going strong, offering various programs such as one called CAST — a youth development program that gets those aged 13–24 involved in the art of theatre and performance. The request for the company to perform in Revelstoke is another move forward for them.

“We are really excited to be visiting Revelstoke,” Ross said “It is such a beautiful city and we look forward to opportunities to return in the future.”

To get an idea of what to expect, check out the video on Bumbershoot Theatre below.