Three emerging Filipino-Canadian artists are starring in ‘A Charlie Brown Double Bill,’ a signature holiday show of the Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) that runs from December 2 to 23. Tickets can be purchased online at https://mtyp.ca/on-stage/charlie-brown.
A combination of the stories of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Christmas, the show features the eponymous character and his loveable friends from ‘Peanuts,’ the popular comic strip drawn by Charles Schulz.
The Filipino-Canadian cast members are Brady Barrientos as the piano-playing Schroeder, Hazel Wallace as Charlie Brown’s sister Sally, and Kris Cahatol as Linus Van Pelt.
A 3rd year student of classical voice at the University of Manitoba, Barrientos has been involved in productions such as BELTFEST 2, MA-BUHAY! Live Reading, Climate & Main, and MTYP’s productions of Alice In Wonderland and The Velveteen Rabbit.
As for Cahatol and Wallace, this is their first professional theatre show, which also happens to be MTYP’s first indoor holiday show in three years.
Like Barrientos, Cahatol also studies classical voice at the University of Manitoba, while Wallace is a vocal performance major at the same university, with an affinity for TV and film. Her most recent credits include Pumpkin Everything and Perfect Harmony. Away from the stage or in front of the camera, Wallace works as a producer and writer for the new Filipino/Mennonite sitcom Maria and the Mennos!
All three cast members have acknowledged how special it is for them to represent the Filipino community in a show where their characters are typically played by white actors.