'Pooh’s Birthday Surprise' tours the Lakes Region during February break

LACONIA ― Seven talented teenagers will be performing in the world premiere of Jaydie Halperin’s play "Pooh’s Birthday Surprise" at area libraries Feb. 25-27 to entertain children and their families during school vacation. This production is produced by Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative, the resident theater company of the Colonial Theatre in Laconia and was created to celebrate the 100th birthday of Winnie The Pooh. 

In this funny and sweet play that is appropriate for families with kids of all ages, Christopher Robin tells Pooh that he’ll come back to the Hundred Acre Wood for “someone’s birthday” that evening and Pooh doesn’t realize the someone he is referring to is Pooh himself. So Pooh sets off to figure out whose birthday it is and ends up planning his own party with help from Piglet, Owl, Kanga and Roo, Rabbit, Eeyore and, of course, Tigger.

Tanner Olson will play Pooh and be joined by David Walker as Piglet, Greta Gaw as Eeyore, Cecelia Ewers as Kanga, Estelle Carr as Tigger, Logan Currier as Christopher Robin/Roo, and Jacoby Spaulding as Owl/Rabbit. The production will be directed by Courtney Palmer and sponsored by The Stonewood School and Northeast Delta Dental and is part of Powerhouse’s 2026 Spark Series sponsored by Taylor Community and The Laconia Daily Sun.

Performances on Wednesday, Feb. 25, will be at the Gilford Public Library at 10 a.m. and Pease Public Library at 2 pm. On Thursday, Feb. 26 there will be a 10 a.m. performance at the Laconia Public Library. The Lakes Region tour wraps up on Friday, Feb. 27, at the Meredith Public Library at 10 a.m. and the Belknap Mill in Laconia at 2 p.m. Admission is free and most performances will be followed by a snack or craft provided by the host. Please check out powerhousenh.org/pooh for all the details on the schedule.

“We are so excited to bring this fun story to families and give our teen actors a chance to do their own show and see what it is like to do a touring theater production," said Palmer. 

And Powerhouse will be hitting the road and performing out of state for the first time.

Playwright Halperin is also the interpretation manager at The West End Museum in Boston, which will host the talented teens for a performance on Saturday Feb. 28.

For all the details on Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative, auditions, and other events in the 2026 season generously sponsored by Grappone Automotive Group, MVSB, and LaValley Middleton Building Supply, check out powerhousenh.org or email info@powerhousenh.org.