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| Holland Noel |
(Charlie Brown sat in a director’s chair in A Charlie Brown Christmas. I will do the same here, as a particular character, a reviewer.)
The actors were great, all
had powerful voices, the characterizations were spot on, and the musical numbers
were fantastic.
But I sat there, in the
chair, in the empty theatre, feeling empty. I know, I shouldn’t feel like that,
but I did. Empty.
I had trouble sitting quietly,
during the performance, a few feet away, as a former director, feeling a little
helpless. But didn’t anyone get the visual cues from me? The fact that I was writing feverishly in the
front row, taking notes, didn’t resonate with the actors playing the characters
on stage.
That the actors should have
been more stage left? Rather than stage right? Downstage, when matters were
best settled upstage? That the kite
would have been better blue, than red?
Didn’t anyone see how alone
I felt? Wasn’t pulling my hair out enough
of a visual cue? Was I the only one
seeing it the way it should have been?
Why, in a world of
incredible actors, was I the only one feeling that it needed focus?
(And one last thing, I don’t
identify with Charlie Brown, I don’t. I
said it and I’m not ashamed.) - Narrator
I’ve heard about
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown The
Musical over the years from people who made polite remarks about the show and
never saying a bad thing about it.
“Snoopy was
great!”
“You have to go
for Snoopy alone.”
“And the best
part was Snoopy! “
“Snoopy cracked
me up!”
“Snoopy is as
funny as all get out.”
Snoopy was
probably the best thing about the cartoons I saw on TV growing up and watched during
the holiday seasons, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
As a child, I
poured over Peanuts comic books, and the daily comic strips. I noticed that in the
earlier version of the comic strip the characters were badly drawn. There
wasn’t a lot of character development in those cells but they were funny.
And in all these
years, I had never seen the musical about Charlie Brown and wasn’t it about
time I got over to the theatre to see it?
For gosh sakes!
Later, after
seeing it, my daughter asked me if kids or adults played the characters.
“Adults. Why?”
“Why? Cause it’s better with kids.”
Kids know
everything and I see her point. The kids
in the comic strip are speaking and acting like adults, even Snoopy, which,
makes it comical. But in this case it
was the adults acting as kids, acting like adults.
Sustaining Sound Theatre
Company and Chromolume Theatre present You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
(Revised 1999) based on the comic strip, Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, Book,
Music and Lyrics by Clark Gesner, additional dialogue by Michael Mayer and
additional Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa through November 2, 2014.
The cast of
characters were there: Charlie (Holland Noel), Lucy (Dorothy Blue), Sally
(Kristin Towers-Rowles), Linus (Richie Ferris), Schroeder (John Deveraux), and
Snoopy (Matt Steele). All were superior
in voice and skills.
The great musical
numbers in this show are Choreographed by Samantha Whidbey. The Kite
by Charlie Brown was one of my favorites because there is so much emotional life in that
song. Rabbit Chasing with Sally and Snoopy, and My New Philosophy with Sally and Schroeder. The Doctor Is In with Lucy and Charlie gives us the true sense of what
Charlie Brown and Lucy are all about.
This production is
a scaled down version of the show, in a very small intimate theatre, and one
that is good for kids as well as adults, but in truth, this is a grand experience for young adults.
This particular
version of the show directed by Cate Caplin came off, not as a comic strip with
songs but rather, as vignettes (in the same vein of “Laugh In” for those who
remember back in the day). Actors would come in, say their piece, or sing a
song, and then leave. Continuity, or a
strong through line, was difficult to discern during the course of this
show.
We have come to know
the relationships between characters over the years and those relationships
could have been better, and strongly defined.
This is a call for a minor adjustment for my own idiosyncratic reasons. Learn the songs, the movements, remember and
define the relationships, and how it all fits to arrive to the pièce
de résistance.
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Holland Noel, as Charlie Brown has a great presence
on stage and some wonderful moments. But we never really get a sense that he’s
a blockhead, whether he thinks that or the others do. Even in this musical, we
need the sense that he has overcome his adversities in the end and is thought
of as a good man, because that is what the show is about.
Dorothy Blue is wonderful to watch as Lucy van Pelt,
has a very nice voice, and I love the blue dress. Lucy is worldly; at least
that’s what she thinks of her self. A little more development of that character
trait and purpose would go a long way. She doesn’t want anyone smarter than she
is and she will go out of her way to confuse people like her brother Linus in
the song Little Know Facts. Also Lucy has a crush on Schroeder but we
don’t see that at all.
John Deveraux as Schroeder has an excellent voice and
a marvelous way on stage. But there is more to be had in this character and his
mannerisms as he moves about on stage. There must be a stronger relationship to
Charlie Brown and also his muse, Lucy van Pelt, to give the character a little
more humph.
Richie Ferris plays Linus van Pelt. This tall statuesque actor has a powerful
voice and does well on stage. So tall that he whips his security blanket on to
the lights high above him. In this musical review, Ferris should strengthen his
relationship with Charlie Brown, his best friend, and Sally so that we know
where he stands with both of those characters. And I always thought that Linus
was the smartest one of the group, if so I did not see this in Ferris’
performance.
Matt Steele plays Snoopy and does so marvelously as
he moans, slithers, slides, and dances all around the stage. And yes, “Snoopy
cracked me up.”
Kristin Towers-Rowles plays Sally Brown and has a lovely
voice. Also, this Sally Brown is an
interesting characterization of pushing her chest out, trying to find answers
to her questions, and wondering why the world is conspiring against her. (Art never deserves a “C”, from any teacher,
any time.) Finding ways to make Sally’s
relationship with Linus stronger would be a good thing—she does love him and
defining that physical relationship would add to an already remarkable
performance.
Other members of
the cast who serve as understudies that did not perform on stage the night I
was there were Trevor Coran, Rachel Geis, Carly Linehan, Andreas
Pantazis, and Michael Uribes.
Robert Towers & Ryan Rowles produced the show.
Colorful Scenic
Design was by Erik Austin. The Lighting Designer was Will North Cleckler.
Costumes by Shon LeBlanc & Melissa Pritchell helped with the characterization and was nicely
done.
I was
particularly impressed by the sound coming from Charlie Brown’s empty mailbox,
Sound Design by Kenny Leforte.
The
Choreographer/Stage Manager was Samantha
Whidby.
And making the
songs sound so delightful was by Musical Director Jeff Bonhiver, who was also on the keyboard, while Tyler Smith played the drums.
Other members of
the crew are as follows:
Publicity – Mike
Abramson
House Manager –
Elliott J. Lawrence
Co-Artistic
Directors – Kristin Towers-Rowles & Rebekah Hellerman
Run! And take some kids that love free expression
and speak their minds.
The
Chromolume Theatre @ The Attic
5429
West Washington Blvd.
Los
Angeles, CA 90016
(Between
Carmona Ave & Hauser Blvd.)
Reservations: 323-205-1617 or purchasing online.
“You’re A Good Man Charlie
Brown” is
presented through special arrangement with Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc.,
and proceeds from this production will be sent
to Free Arts For Abused Children, a Los Angeles based non-profit
organization whose mission is to provide healing and empowerment to victims of
child abuse and neglect through creative and innovative arts programming.
More information may be found at www.freearts.org.
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