For its Christmas presentation, Valley Youth Theatre returns to the snow covered Hundred Acre Wood for the 17th time to tell the tale of A Winnie the Pooh Christmas Tail, and it’s a charmer.

The seasonal story revolves around Eeyore.  Eeyore, you see, has lost his tail and it’s up to all of his friends, including Pooh, Piglet and Christopher Robin, to find it.  Writer James W. Rodgers has taken the familiar A.A. Milne story and placed it in a holiday setting complete with colorful Christmas lights that not only decorate the trees that flank the stage but also most of the set.  There are also large, icy snowflakes that hang from the auditorium ceiling completing the cozy feel of the holidays, and yes, for the grand climax it even snows.

 

The fun thing about Rodgers’ script is that it not only adapts the Milne characters to the stage but he also keeps intact the humorous wordplay for which A.A. Milne was celebrated.  When Tigger makes his bouncy entrance and wants to know who is missing he is told, “It’s not who’s missing, it’s what’s missing,” to which he replies, “Who’s missing what, then?”

As usual with VYT, the secret to a successful production is getting the casting just right, and there are bound to be standouts.  Austin McMains makes a fine Christopher Robin.  At 17 he is one of the oldest and tallest members on stage, and by having Austin at the center of the mostly animal cast he grounds the production, holding it together while the smaller members of his extended family sing and dance around him.  There are also several fine singing voices; Hannah Blaile delights as Owl, as does Claire Goux as Kanga, and even though neither Maddie Rathbun as Eeyore, Tim Oakes as Tigger, Olivia Fearey as Roo, nor Payton Bioletto as Rabbit sing a solo, all perfectly capture the spirit of their characters in such a way that as soon as I returned home after the early Sunday afternoon matinee, I was inspired to grab my own and slightly worn copy of Winnie the Pooh and read another story.

 

And then at the center of it all is the delightful double-team of Piglet and Pooh. Clara Moffitt is great fun as cuddly Piglet, the kind of best friend that anyone would want, but it’s Carly McClain as Pooh you’ll remember the most.  Carly not only possesses a fine singing voice and makes Pooh Bear such a fun character to be with, but let’s face it, she also possess the perfect stage name, and it’s her real name.  Remember it.  It’s Carly McClain.

The cast is rounded out by five woodland friends, creatures who also live in the Hundred Acre Wood, and they are Henry Brown, Jacob Patch, Charlie Siegel, Astrid Westberg and Maddie Wilmink, and it would be fair to say that everyone here does a great job.

 

The production was directed by Cori Brown, herself an ex-player of VYT, and it’s her light touch and unfussy choreography that pulls everything together.  If your child shows any interest in the theatre and the only exposure he or she has ever had is a high-school production, then take them to Valley Youth Theatre right now.  It’s not the next logical step, it’s actually a giant leap to see what the young actors of Maricopa County can do in a show where the production values are as high as any professional show in town.

 For more details regarding times, tickets and dates, CLICK HERE to go directly to the VYT website.

And check in with KEZ on Christmas Eve between 3pm and 7pm for the annual KEZ Christmas Eve Special where all the cast of A Winnie the Pooh Christmas Tail assist me with announcing duties.