Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Friday 24th April 2015
From 1950 to 2000,
Charles M. Schulz made the world laugh, and think, by way of his cartoon strip,
Peanuts. The central character, Charlie Brown, and his dog, Snoopy, are semiautobiographical characters, reflecting Schultz's own insecurities and shortcomings, and reference to his own dog, Spike, which is also the name of one of Snoopy's siblings. The real Spike was quite an unusual animal, who would regularly eat sharp metal objects. Sadly, so many cartoon strips are taken over by other people when the original artist dies, and they are changed dramatically over time, losing their appeal. Schulz requested that Peanuts ended with him and his family wisely respected his wishes, refusing to allow the strip to continue with other artists.
Shulz invented a whole group of characters for his cartoon strip, and
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown involves six of the most central characters. Obviously, Charlie Brown and his beagle, Snoopy, are there, along with the crabby Lucy van Pelt and her more than reluctant love interest, the Beethoven addicted pianist, Schroeder. Lucy's younger brother, Linus, and his security blanket, and Charlie's younger sister, Sally, who is fixated on the disinterested Linus, complete the collection.
Some of Adelaide's most talented, experienced young actors are performing in this production, a musical that every fan of the Peanuts cartoons will love. The dialogue is all straight from the cartoon strips, interspersed with song and dance numbers for the ensemble, and solos songs for each of the characters.
As you would expect, all of the regularly occurring, popular themes are there: Charlie Brown visits Lucy the psychiatrist, Schroeder plays Beethoven, while Lucy bothers him with domestic matters, Lucy tries to steal Linus's blanket, Sally is unhappy with the marks from her teacher, Miss Othmar, and wonders why Linus, her 'Sweet Babboo', does not respond favourably, Snoopy fights the Red Baron, they all play baseball, and much, much more.
The Hills Musical Company Inc.'s production is directed by Hayley Horton, and choreographed by Vanessa Redmond, together creating a well paced performance with plenty of movement throughout as well as some great dance routines. The set design, by
Jamie Richards, uses numerous cubes, decorated differently on each face, that can be arranged to show different locations and furniture as required, with Snoopy's dog house upstage, where it is always visible, and a few set pieces such as Schroeder's piano brought in when needed. The set changes are all done by the cast.
The music includes that composed specifically for the musical by
Clark Gesner, who also wrote the book and the lyrics, as well as familiar snatches of Beethoven and, if you listen carefully, you might just catch that few bars of Vince Guaraldi's
Linus and Lucy theme from the animated cartoon series. Musical Director, Peter Johns, who also plays keyboards, has a very fine group of musicians with him in the orchestra pit, with Louis Cann, bass, Max Ziliotto, percussion, Daniel Burgess, reeds, and Iala Bastians on violin and viola.
At this point I really must mention that the sound technician, Matthew Curtis, provided one of the best balanced and clearest mixes one could wish for, in a town where too often a poor mix, with dreadful balance and muddiness, can spoil an otherwise fine production. The company would be well advised to hang on to him as tightly as possible. Sound technicians of this calibre are rarer than hen's teeth.
Charlie Brown is played sympathetically by Gareth Wilkes, showing Charlie's insecurity and shyness, and his self criticism, and yet still making him a likeable character. Wilkes finds that essential trait in Charlie Brown that, although he continually fails at so many things, he will optimistically try again in spite of all the past evidence against the possibility of success. This is the very trait that we see in the great scientists and inventors.
Fahad Farooque is a marvellous Snoopy, complete with drooping ears, and throwing in the occasional howl. Farooque presents Snoopy's canine detachment that allows him to remain aloof from the petty lives of the mere humans around him, freeing him to daydream. The Red Baron scene is a knockout.
Millicent 'Mim' Sarre is a delightful Sally, full of that childish enthusiasm and boundless energy, skipping rather than walking and her mind leaping from one thought to another, questioning everything. Although she is a relative newcomer to theatre she showed all of the confidence and professionalism as the more experienced cast members. She is one to watch.
Amy Nagesh is the crotchety Lucy, superbly capturing that know-it-all, egotistical, and crabby personality, unhampered by even the slightest trace of empathy. This is another of those fine lines to walk between the negative side of the character and and finding the humour in her pomposity and bluster, a line that Nagesh walks with confidence.
Buddy Dawson gives Linus an endearing lisp, which seems to suit the gentle philosopher, who even has a kind word or two for his sister. Dawson captures that awkwardness that Linus has, approaching that age when a security blanket is something to grow out of, but not easy to discard and that inner conflict is subtly dealt with.
Omkar Nagesh completes the cast, as Schroeder, the musical genius of the group. Nagesh gives his Schroeder that total concentration when playing piano that we see in the cartoons, oblivious to Lucy's mundane chatter about marriage when they grow up.
A ten minute drive up the freeway and you will be in another world, that of Charles M. Shulz and his collection of quirky children who have entertained millions over the last 65 years and, no doubt, will continue to do so for a long time to come as new generations discover his cartoon strips. Take this opportunity to see them brought to life by this marvellous group of performers and their technical support team.
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