Charlie Brown and his friends are coming to the Soo in mid-December.
A production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” sponsored by Parkers Ace Hardware will be featured at the Soo Theatre at 7 p.m. on Dec. 11 and 12, and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Dec. 13. It will feature a cast of approximately 45 children from around the Sault Ste. Marie area as part of the popular Peanuts gang.
The original television show of the same name premiered on Dec. 9, 1965, and was the first television special featuring the Peanuts characters. It has been shown on TV and streaming services annually during the holiday season.
This is the first year that the classic animated television special comes to life at the Soo Theatre, according to stage manager Sara Porter. The play will feature a stage adaption of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang discovering the true meaning of Christmas. The cast of the production has only been in place for a few weeks, and Porter expects they will have nearly 15 rehearsals by the time Dec. 11 arrives.
That’s a shorter number of rehearsals than is common, Porter said.
“We had to double cast for this play because we had about 60 kids come out for the audition,” said Porter.
Some of the kids are coming from 20 miles away to participate.
“I love working with kids. They are like a sponge. They soak up everything we tell them,” Porter said. “After our third rehearsal most of the kids had memorized all their lines.”
The Soo Theatre hosted a production of “A Christmas Story” last year and “Elf the Musical” in 2023. Interest has grown from local actors over the last few years following the COVID-19 pandemic. That expanded interest has allowed the theater to schedule holiday-themed plays.
“In the past four years we have really ramped up doing a show for Christmas,” Porter said. “A lot of times we don’t have the bandwidth for these types of productions, but our program is growing.”
The Soo Theatre opened on March 12, 1930. It is the only remaining vintage theater in the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula. Its large stage and fly-space make it uniquely suited for fully scenic theatrical productions — something no other local venue offers, according to its online profile.
The theater normally seats up to around 700 guests, but current renovations have knocked the capacity down to about 500 based on fire marshal recommendations, Porter said.
“We may not fill the theater all the time but there’s a strong (theater) community,” she said.
Porter expects the most coveted tickets to sell fast for “A Charle Brown Christmas” given the number of child actors involved.
“When we had ‘Elf’ a couple of years ago we had all the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and large families all come out to see their kids,” Porter said.
The Soo Theatre is located at 534 Ashmun St. Tickets can be purchased by calling 906-632-1930, and picking them up at the theater’s will call, or by picking them up in person at the theater weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission tickets are $15, with student tickets $8 per person.
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Soo Theatre to stage ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ this December
Reporting by M. Alan Scott, Special to the Sault News / The Sault News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
