A HOLIDAY PANTO THAT
KNOWS WHAT IT’S DOING

The Actors’ Gang offers a family-friendly fairy tale with teeth

Children of the Winter Kingdom – The Bonkers Adventures of Holly and Spruce, now frolicking at The Actors’ Gang in Culver City, is reminiscent of the beloved British Christmas pantomimes. The family-friendly show is festive and song-filled, littering the stage with chatty animals, young heroes on a quest, and villains who richly deserve booing.

Pierre Adeli as Scrag the Dragon

Written by Mary Eileen O’Donnell and Adam Dugas, who also directs, the show adheres to several British traditions: the story is more fairy tale than Chekhov, surfeit with magical beings, brimming with peril, and refreshingly vague about Christmas itself. As per convention, I believe the upright and noble characters enter from stage right, while the evil-doers consistently appear from stage left — though I admit I got so caught up in the action that I lost track.

Stephanie Pinnock as the Weasel Guard, Chad Reinhart as Bruno,
Jacob Dodson as Spruce, and Zoe Molina as Zelda the Circus Queen

The tale centers on siblings Holly (Madison Davis) and Spruce (Jacob Dodson), who are separated from their beloved — and unbeknownst to them, magical — Aunt Clara (Magali Shukar) by unpleasant stepparents (Pierre Adeli and Stephanie Pinnock), and delivered into the unsavory hands of Zelda (Zoe Moilina), an unscrupulous circus queen, and her henchman Bruno (Tip Scarry).

Jolene Hjerleid as Dop the Bonker

In a bid to escape their three-ring servitude, the plucky orphans flee into the enchanted wilderness of Glassenvale, which brims with…well, enchanted stuff. There are dancing trees à la Julie Taymor, a wicked weasel king, a ferocious wild girl (Marcelina Valenzuela), a very accommodating crow (Nico Fife), a timorous king (Fernando Siqueria), and Scrag — again played by Adeli — his loyal dragon, whose accent suggests he hails from the same clutch as Sean Connery’s Draco in Dragonheart.

Fernando Siqueira as King Villabo and Madison Davis as Holly

Double and triple casting is the rule here. Guebri Van Over appears as Cat, Glop the Bonker, the Ice Spider, and The Great Stag, while Jolene Hjerleid tackles Narrator, Fifi, Dop the Bonker, and a Birch Tree. Stephanie Pinnock earns her keep as the evil Stepmother, Tiger, Tizzy the Bonker, and a weasel guard. These performers share the gold for sheer endurance and versatility.

Magali Shukar as the sorceress Borana Vix

The lively musical interludes by O’Donnell, Dugas, and Scarry give the show a welcome boost, but what truly pushes both the “children” and their “kingdom” over the top is the stagecraft one expects from The Actors’ Gang. Lighting and sound designers Bosco Flanagan and Dave Robbins keep the fairy tale convincingly fairylike, while Patrick O’Connor’s artwork and illustrations, delivered through Cihan Sahin’s deft projections, immerse the audience in a fully imagined world.

And of course, without costume designer Rynn Vogel, it would be hard to imagine a giant weasel, an Ice Spider, or a winged dragon with the theatrical chops this company demands of its performers.

To supersize the fun, don’t just send the kids — join them. And if you don’t have children of your own, borrow some from a neighbor and go.

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photos by Bob Turton Photography

Children of the Winter Kingdom – The Bonkers Adventures of Holly and Spruce
The Actors’ Gang Theater, 9070 Venice Blvd. in Culver City
Thurs–Sat at 8; Sun at 2 (Dec. 14)
ends on December 20, 2025
for tickets ($34.99 + fees; discounts available) visit Actors’ Gang

for more shows, visit Theatre in LA

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