PTAG Presents “The House At Pooh Corner” as First Show of the Season

The Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild has been working hard on its first production of the 2023 season and it is almost ready for the stage. Make your plans to see “The House at Pooh Corner” by A. A. Milne and adapted by Bettye Knapp; produced by special arrangement with Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois. It offers classic adventures from the denizens of the Hundred Acre Woods. This show will be performed March 10 at 7:30 pm and on Saturday, March 11 at 2:00 pm at the Presbyterian Church on the corner of Union & Findley Streets. Tickets at the door or use 2023 Patron tickets.

This particular production took an extra long time to get to performance. This story, from the tales of the beloved character Winnie-the-Pooh and friends, was one week away from its debut when the pandemic lockdown occurred in March of 2020. Nothing was able to be staged in 2021 either and safer titles were performed in 2022. Now, in just a few days time, this show will finally be able to be in front of an audience. Some of the original adult actors are able to return to their roles but some of the youngsters first involved are now too big to play characters like Piglet and Roo, so a slightly different cast has assembled to make it work as the first show of Season 48.

All the classic characters are there. Christopher Robin, as many are aware from childhood, had a rag-tag assortment of stuffed animals that flourished as real characters for him to interact with away from the adults. There is happy-go-lucky Pooh Bear and his little buddy Piglet, gloomy Eeyore, wise Owl, motherly Kanga and her little Roo, fussy Rabbit with his two nieces Early and Late in tow and the bouncy Tigger too. They have fun adventures together like exploring and learning and being there whenever Christopher Robin needs them. Audiences will witness their merry times together as the characters come to life.

Starring in the show are Becket Cannon as Christopher Robin, Jef Dinsmore as Pooh, Jagger Lorenzo as Piglet, Kathy S. Dinsmore as Eeyore, Tim Cooper as Owl, Suzanne Moore as Kanga, Payton Stewart as Roo, Maddy Matthews as Rabbit, Debra Dinsmore as Early Rabbit, Bailey Riggleman as Late Rabbit and Jessica Schidlmeier as Tigger. Added to each of their characterizations each actor has a special costume & makeup to help define them in their roles. Christopher Robin and his stuffed friends lift right off the pages of Milne’s classic tales as they give us lessons about friendship, the importance of cooperation and the fun of playtime.

The Guild has this to say, “It is nice for us to finally stage this show for our audiences and equally nice that we could provide an atmosphere for our troupe to interact with some children and have them explore their interest in acting. Hopefully, they wil enjoy their time with us enough that they will join us again through the years as a part of our acting family. It would be lovely seeing their experience also enriched by appreciative audiences. We hope you come out and support not only PTAG but these youth performers as they give, as Pooh and friends would call it – ‘their Best’. See you at the show!