It’s not quite Thanksgiving, but Christmas time is here for Countryside Community Theatre.

As part of its 40^th-anniversary season, CCT is presenting “A Charlie Brown Christmas” this weekend at The Lincoln Center auditorium, 318 E. 7th Street in Davenport, in the former Lincoln Elementary School. There will be four performances Thanksgiving weekend:

• Friday, Nov. 24th at 3 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 25th at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 26th at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $10 can be purchased in advance HERE.

The family-friendly show is based on the beloved 1965 TV special, starring none other than the lovable gang from the iconic “Peanuts” comic strip by Charles Schulz. Prepare to join Charlie Brown as he hilariously takes on the role of director for the school Christmas pageant, all because he can’t handle the materialistic madness that engulfs the holiday season.

More than half of the cast is filled with fresh-faced rookies, including a 9-month-old prodigy in Charlie’s gang.

The new production is in the hands of the CCT veteran Sara Tomasson (director) and the music director Cindy Ramos, with fashion flair from Erin Emerle and a dazzling light show by Tristan Tapscott.

“I would love for this show to be a true community theatre experience,” Tomasson said recently. “Every opportunity I have had to be part of a holiday show puts me in the best holiday spirit! I am hoping that comes through with both the cast and the experience we give the audience.”

CCT can’t perform at their summer home — North Scott High School, Eldridge — and wanted to do more community outreach, Ramos said Tuesday.

They did “A Christmas Carol” in 2018 at a Princeton community center.

Ramos has been involved in CCT for over 20 years, directed this past summer’s production of “Footloose,” and is the current board president. The Charlie Brown Christmas show famously has just one sung song — the iconic ballad, “Christmas Time Is Here,” and its other jazzy, evocative Vince Guaraldi music.

There will be carols sung by all (with the audience) during the bows, and the whole production takes just 45 minutes.

The show is using pre-recorded accompaniment, since there’s no room for a pit. There are about 30 in the cast, including Ramos’s 6-year-old daughter, Reina, who’s in her first show ever.

“She saw it for the first time this year,” Ramos said of the famous TV special. Tomasson’s 9-month-old boy, Walt, is also part of the show.

Several families in show

There are many groups of siblings in the show, Ramos said, noting the boy who plays Charlie Brown (11-year-old Oakly Mack) is one of four in a family taking part. “It’s a family affair,” Ramos said. “And our troop of volunteer dads, we could not have done this without them. They’re amazing — they just come in and are like, what do you need done?”

“They are such a blessing,” Tomasson said. Her credits include being on stage for CCT’s “Newsies” and “The Music Man.” She’s been doing Countryside shows since 2002.

“This is my first time directing in the Quad Cities,” Tomasson said. “I directed when I was in college and the funny thing was, they said the script calls for 10 kids and I said, what about 30? We just kind of rolled with it.”

“I wanted more kids involved, but for me, community theater — especially with the way the world is now — is such a foundational thing for me, to be an opportunity for brand-new kids,” she said. “And not just one new kid. This is 20 brand-new kids, it’s their first show.”

Every older kid has two little ones they help to guide during rehearsals, Tomasson said.

“Our future is very bright, since we’ve got these new kids coming up,” Ramos said.

Teddy Wilkinson-Grau, 7, of Bettendorf, plays Linus. This is his first show. “My favorite character is Linus and my dog’s name is Linus,” he said. 

Oakly Mack is coming to Charlie Brown after having performed in the Spotlight Theatre Children’s Company “Elf” earlier in November.

He said by the first day in October that he got his Charlie Brown script, he already memorized seven pages. Oakly also was in “Joseph” and “Music Man” at CCT, and was on the crew for “Footloose,” helping move set pieces.

He likes Charlie Brown most because he’s the main character.

Next summer, CCT will do the musicals “In the Heights” and “The Little Mermaid.”

For more information, visit the theater website HERE.