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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
'Charlie Brown': Good man, great production by Fair Oaks Theatre Festival
by Barry Wisdom, published on August 16, 2010 at 8:21 PM
Storyline: Photo Essay
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photographs by Barry Wisdom
The Fair Oaks Theatre Festival’s “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” playing through Sept. 12, is sweetly innocent, adorably guileless and just plain funny.
Its extremely short scenes – seamlessly presented like a series of “Peanuts” comic-strip panels (on which it is based) – makes it perfectly suited for those with short attention spans, like kids and smart-phone-addicted adults. In other words, everyone.
Blessed with a talented cast sure of lines and lyrics, engaging choreography and some nifty, topical upgrades to its original, 43-year-old book, director Bob Irvin’s savvy staging is not only a child’s perfect introduction to live theater, but a wonderfully nostalgic trip down Dolly Madison lane for those who grew up reading Charles M. Schulz’s deceptively simple daily strip while looking forward to annual showings of his jazzy TV specials like “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
Irvin’s mounting is particularly family-friendly, with judicious cuts to the script and score that whittles down the “running time” to a breezy 90 minutes or so (including a mid-show intermission).
Originally produced in 1967 as an Off-Broadway adaptation of Clark Gesner’s concept album, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” made its way to Broadway twice, with the 1999 Tony-winning revival (the version offered here) featuring new dialogue by Michael Mayer, additional songs, and a new character: Charlie Brown’s sister, Sally.
Those who have seen the full-length production aren’t likely to miss the cuts (such songs as “Glee Club Rehearsal” and “The Doctor Is In”), as the remaining 13 numbers are so joyful and entertainingly presented that one leaves the wonderfully intimate Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre fully satisfied.
Smiles spread easily and start from the ground up as the small details of Irvin’s well-paced direction and Sunny Smith and Analise Langford-Clark’s choreography come into view, including Langford-Clark’s own adorably pigeon-toed stance as Sally; the smug, almost-marching gait of Lucy (the delightful Lisa Cotter); and the matter-of-fact approach given to a wheelchair-bound Charlie Brown. (Actor Joe Hart, who played the part opening night, recently injured his legs in an accident and is alternating the role with Michael Bowles.)
The fact that the title character, who for more than 60 years has been seen in print, on the tube and on the screen running futilely toward a Lucy-held football and pulling kites toward greedy trees, is in a wheelchair proves to be no distraction whatsoever. If anything, it reinforces Charlie Brown’s persona as an underdog with a never-say-die attitude who strives for success in the face of overwhelming odds.
Irvin, Smith and Langford-Clark’s new bits of business for the cast involving the chair (it’s definitely not ignored, but embraced) also serve to reinforce the characters’ well-established personalities. At one point, Lucy enters pushing Charlie Brown center stage. Always brusque and totally self-absorbed, she runs him into one of the large, multi-functional blocks on stage without a shred of concern.
“Sorry,” she says without a bit of real remorse Gilly-style.
It’s fresh, funny and totally in character.
Later, Snoopy (Raymond Keller) – in a nurse’s hat (that subconsciously reinforces the notion that Charlie Brown’s wheelchair is a temporary condition borne out of injury, rather than a permanent thing) – helps Charlie Brown get his kite up in “The Kite.”
There’s also a wonderful entrance featuring Schroeder (Jonathan Blum), who runs in pushing Charlie Brown’s wheelchair as both make very kid-like racecar sound effects.
More distracting – though not overly so – is the presence of glasses on Linus (Daniel Slauson). So ingrained is Linus’ innocently tousled, earnest and specs-free face that Slauson’s reliance on corrective lenses requires far more adjustment than seeing Charlie Brown in a wheelchair.
That could well be viewed as a compliment to Hart’s gentle, sensitive take on our good ol’ Charlie Brown. Though a true ensemble piece, this look at “an average day in the life of Charlie Brown” really depends on the likability of its everyboy centerpiece, and whether he’s working up the courage to give a Valentine’s Day card to a classmate or rallying the gang to break its losing streak on the baseball field, Hart’s “Chuck” is a great “kid” for whom one can’t help but cheer.
Also worth cheering is the singing on stage. The cast members, who for the most part offer juvenile versions of their actual voices in character, gleefully belt their numbers with enthusiastic verve.
Musical director Lucy D’Mot has done a superb job, and each number is something to savor.
The solos are uniformly fun – including Linus’ tribute to fleece (“My Blanket and Me”), Sally’s paean to grrrlpower (“My New Philosophy”), Snoopy’s ode to doggy dining (“Suppertime”), Lucy’s tuneful proclamation of what’s what (“Little Known Facts”) and the aforementioned “The Kite.”
But the ensemble numbers, such as “Beethoven Day,” “The Baseball Game” and “Happiness," really sum up what this show is all about: working together; enjoying each other; and accepting one another despite individual idiosyncrasies – whether they include frequent dogfights with the Red Baron or the belief that becoming a queen is a real possibility (after all, as Lucy says, "it’s all based on who you know").
If anything, this live production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” is more animated than any cartoon, with the “Peanuts” gang leapfrogging, cartwheeling, running and groovin' (yes, the famous “Charlie Brown” dance sequence to Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy” is included) across the stage.
Charlie Brown is, indeed, a good man, but “…Charlie Brown” is a great show.
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“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” is based on the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz with music and lyrics by Clark Gessner, book by John Gordon, directed by Bob Irvin, musical direction by Lucy D’Mot and choreography by Sunny Smith and Analise Langford-Clark.
It will be presented by the Fair Oaks Theatre Festival at Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre, 7991 California Ave., Fair Oaks.
Shows are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. Aug.13 through Sept. 12.
Tickets cost $8-$15.
For more information, call (916) 966-3683 or visit fairoakstheatrefestival.com.
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