Last year’s live production of A Charlie Brown Christmas was the best-selling offering in the history of Orlando Family Stage. So the theater will present the show again in 2025, again spotlighting the timeless charm of hapless but lovable Chuck (as Peppermint Patty would later call him) and his search for meaning.
Another cast of 20- to 30-somethings will embody the story’s holiday platter of ill-fated tree shopping, pageant rehearsals that erupt into dance parties and an effective anti-materialism message—all set to an iconic jazz score by the late Vince Guaraldi.
The 2025 edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas has multiple layers of significance, arriving on both the 60th anniversary of the perennially-popular animated TV special on which the live show is based (which since 2020 has aired on Apple TV+ after decades as a holiday tradition on ABC) and the 75th anniversary of Peanuts, the iconic comic strip created by Charles M. Schultz.
But unlike the TV special, which during its network airings ran for 30 minutes, the stage production clocks in at a full 75 minutes, thanks to an expanded skating sequence, some additional shtick with Snoopy and the singing of traditional Christmas carols arranged by locally based swing musician Michael Andrew.
The premise: Charlie Brown, much to his dismay, has reluctantly concluded that the true meaning of Christmas has been subsumed by commercialism and spectacle. When he is unexpectedly asked to direct the Christmas play, he gradually changes his mind with help from his friends and the discovery of simple truths from unexpected places.
Last year, the production was favorably reviewed by the Orlando Sentinel’s Matthew J. Palm: “It’s the time of year for nostalgia, it’s the time of year for reflection. It’s a time for fun and it’s a time for hope. A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live on Stage captures all of that with a shiny bow on top.”
OFS Artistic Director Jeff Revels will direct not only the Orlando production but a touring version that will play Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Brooklyn with a different cast of young locals portraying the universally familiar characters. For 2026, Revels is studying the possibility of sending out two touring casts. Good grief!
“These characters have been around longer than I have,” says Revels. “They are as familiar to us as our own families. But when you get to spend deep time with them, you find new things to bring to focus. They speak so simply but so deeply.”
Orlando Family Stage is located at 1001 East Princeton Street, Orlando, in Loch Haven Cultural Park. For more information, call or visit the website
