Review: A Charlie Brown Christmas by Zach Theatre
by Vanessa Hoang Hughes

A Charlie Brown Christmas follows Charles Schulz's beloved cartoon character Charlie Brown as he struggles to find the true meaning of the holidays. Charlie’s then appointed to direct the annual Christmas play put on by the classic Peanuts crew. The audience discovers the value of Christmas and importance of friendship along with Charlie Brown as he strives to put on the perfect festive play. 

 

The show, directed by Betty Marie Muessig, is staged in the Kleberg Theater. This is Zach Theater's smaller venue but has plenty of room for its enthusiastic audiences. The script of the 1965 TV special, in which the cartoonist himself had a hand, was adapted for the stage by Eric Schaeffer. Schulz started drawing the syndicated feature in 1950 and continued for fifty years. The influence of Schulz and Peanuts to U.S. cultural history is suggested by the fact that Wikipedia's bio of him runs approximately 5,300 words.

 

Hardly surprising, then, that Charlie Brown, like Peter Pan, never grew up. His simple, kindly vulnerability brings nostalgia to generations of Americans and a fresh, attractive worldview to the little ones. Couple that with the Christmas season, and you've got a winner of a production, easy to stage.

 

 

The show opens with the cast singing “Christmas Time is Here” while gently ice-skate-dancing across the stage. The nostalgic melody progresses into one of many cheery dances led by Matthew Kennedy’s Snoopy jumping across the stage. Kennedy, who also choreographed the show, was a crowd favorite, vividly portraying Snoopy's confident canine comedy for both parents and children.

 

Charlie Turner leads the show as a classic Charlie Brown. He's accompanied by his shy but insightful friend Linus, played in alternating casts by Oscar Lopez and Luke Golby, students at Zach's performing arts academy. They're all bossed around by Hannah Marie Smith’s Lucy, the confident entrepreneur of the group, offering psychiatric help for the small price of a nickel. It's reassuring (though unrealistic) to find that inflation hasn’t affected the Peanuts world. Kyra Jackson is sister Sally.

 

 

 

 

Alternating in Pig Pen's hilariously genius costume are Zach Academy actors Caeley Hardy and Tatum Dishman. It uses mesh puffs expelling baby powder to represent dirt swirling around the character. 

 

Ben Knight as Schroeder jammed out on a comically tiny piano. At the end of this fifty-minute show, the cast leads the audience in a wholesome dance and singalong to classic holiday tunes, including the Hanukkah dreidel song. The finale had children in the audience literally jumping out of their seats.

 

Although A Charlie Brown Christmas lacks a strong linear plot, the songs and dances—and the heart put into ithem—proved fun for everybody in the house. Welcome (or welcome back) to the world of Charlie Brown, everyone who's young at heart!     

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A Charlie Brown Christmas
by Charles Schultz, Bill Melendez, Lee Mendelson (TV), Eric Shaeffer (stage)
Zach Theatre

November 7–December 28, 2025 (Public Performances)

 Fri, Nov 7 at 7:00 pm; Sat Nov 8, 15, 22 and 29 at 11:00 am; Sun Nov 9, 16, 23, and 30 at 2:30 pm

 Beginning Dec 6: Saturdays at 11 am and 2:30 pm and Sundays at 2:30 pm
The Kleberg at Zach | 1421 W Riverside Dr. | Austin, TX | 78704
Start at $21 (Youth) and $31 (Adult) available at Zach's box office – 512-476-0541 x1, zachtheater.org. For school performances please contact 512-476-0541 x2.

Special events in celebration of A Charlie Brown Christmas:

• Pay What You Wish Week – Friday, November 7 through Sunday, November 9, 2025
• The Market at Zach – Saturdays: November 22 & 29; December 13 & 14 from 4:00-8:00pm; with Kid’s Market at Zach Saturday December 6 from 11:30am-4:30pm
• ASL Performance – Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 2:30pm