Tampa actor plays Snoopy in ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas Live!’

He doesn’t speak a single word – he is a dog, after all – but Snoopy is the most animated character in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Adapted from the classic 1965 television special, the stage version (A Charlie Brown Christmas Live!) retains the charming Vince Guaraldi music and the storyline and winsome dialogue (except, of course, for Snoopy, who’s more of a physical comedian) by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz.

Gabriel White Marin

The singing, dancing, 90-minute family show is onstage Wednesday (Nov. 12) at the Mahaffey Theater, in a touring production by Orlando Family Stage. Among the cast members is Tampa’s Gabriel White Marin, wearing the white beagle “suit” and the floppy dog ears.

“He just jumped out at the auditions,” said the tour’s co-producer Tanya Kateri. “We count our lucky stars because he brings something so special to this role. I can’t tell you how many ‘we’re so lucky’ texts have been flying between the producers.”

Marin, 19, is a graduate of Blake High School’s theater magnet program. “I started to really get into musical theater at my high school in Texas, and then I moved to Blake during my senior year,” he explained. “And I learned a lot from that program, for sure.”

He’s also a rugby player – something he picked up during the years the family lived in Canada. After his graduation from Blake, he was recruited for the D1 rugby program at Life University in Marietta, Georgia.

“That was what I pursued for about a year and a half. I got injured, and during my recovery process, I realized ‘You know, I really want to go back to the arts.’ It was a big part of my life. In Canada, the school theater programs are more low-key, so there was a bigger commitment to it when I moved to the States. It was just a whole new world to me.

“I couldn’t really do that at the rugby program, it was so hardcore. Just rugby. So I dropped it in December of 2024 and started my gap year.”

Marin in the New Tampa Players production of “Into the Woods.”

White auditioned for the New Tampa Players, and was cast as Cinderella’s Prince in the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. “That,” he explained, “was a really good experience, really wonderful community. I loved the New Tampa Players – shoutout to Nora Paine, the director there. She’s amazing.”

Then came The Music Man as Marcellus, and Oklahoma as Curly. Next, he virtually auditioned for A Charlie Brown Christmas Live!.

Oklahoma was in tech week (just before opening) when Orlando Family Stage producers offered him the coveted role of Snoopy; rehearsals were to start immediately.

“It was a huge opportunity,” Marin said. “And they (New Tampa Players) were actually very supportive – ‘this is a big thing for you; you should take it.’ And they helped me transition. It was really beautiful.”

Another actor stepped into the role, and Gabriel White Marin was off to Orlando to practice his howling, dancing and acting like a penguin.

“I was thinking about going back to school, to study engineering in Texas. And then I got his email with this opportunity.”

A Charlie Brown Christmas Live! will travel around the country through Dec. 30.

With Gabriel White Marin quite literally hot-dogging it, with nary a word. “It’s been like learning a new language, for sure,” he said. “It’s been a great experience. I’ve learned so much.”

Find tickets for Wednesday’s 7 p.m. show at this link.