Any physical differences between the actors and their Schulz-drawn counterparts is easy to forget (perhaps the hardest of these being Lucy, whose straight light-brown hair and plain blue dress make her look more like Lewis Carroll’s Alice).īest of all, the children feel like children - precocious, outspoken children, admittedly, but children nonetheless. ![]() Without turning the actors into mere imitations of the strips, director Dan Katz ’03 has drawn out six performances from his actors which are familiar and comforting, recognizable as the characters we grew up with, and yet very real and new. It is in this respect that this production shines brightest. ![]() As opposed to a book that a handful of audience members have read, almost everyone knows the characters as old friends, and will not readily accept any deviation from the familiar personalities. Moreover, Peanuts is in some ways the hardest source imaginable to adapt. In fact, though some scenes are longer than others, much of the play comes directly from the original three-panel strips, giving the actors nothing but a few lines of dialogue and a punchline to work from. And in fact, as far as the plot goes, that’s about all there is.įor this reason, the play poses a serious challenge for a cast and director: pulling clear characterizations out of the script is not as easy as with a straightforward, linear plot. Along with four friends - Linus (Tommy Fisher ’02), Schroeder (Phillip Burrowes ’04), Lucy (Caitlin Marlow ’03) and Patty (Katherine Klesch ’04) - and of course his more or less faithful beagle Snoopy (Jamez Kirtley ’94), Charlie Brown struggles through another day full of book reports, baseball games, kite flying, and a little philosophy. The musical tells the story of a day in the life of Charlie Brown (Todd Radford G) through a combination of monologues, short scenes, and musical numbers. (Go ahead, try it.) But anyone who thinks that they’ve outgrown the comic strip and thinks that it was “just for kids” should see the Musical Theatre Guild’s production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. ![]() Most of us can probably name nine characters from the strip far more quickly than we could name the nine Supreme Court justices. Starring Todd Radford G, Tommy Fisher ’02, Phillip Burrowes ’04, Caitlin Marlow ’03, Katherine Klesch ’04, Jamez Kirtley ’94įor many of us, Charles Schulz’s Peanuts was an integral part of childhood. THEATER REVIEW ‘Charlie Brown,’ A Treat for Audiences of All Ages Creatively Arranged Compilation of Schulz’s ‘Peanuts’ Comic Strip Rekindles a Long-Lost Love for Charlie
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |