BWW Reviews: Gravity Defied's YOU'RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN

I will open by apologizing for the lateness of this review. Unforeseen and very nasty computer problems prevented me from getting it up on time. But I wanted to get the review out there.

That being said....

With Gravity Defied's second production, "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown", they are showing that they are serious about entertaining their audience. Held in the smaller "black box" type of theater at the Aurora Fox, you enter the theater to the musicians playing a set of jazz. They were Benjamin Ehrlich on piano, Dustin Arndt on Drums, Paul Hartman on bass, Joe Wilson on sax/clarinet and flute and Ellen Jaramillo on Violin and viola. I would sip martinis and listen to them live any day of the week. Musical director, Nicholas Roseth had the task of conducting them from across the theater and did a fine job, even becoming part of the show at times.

Gravity Defied is a new regional company with one show under their belt. (The very well done "BARE-The Musical") It is evident with this, their second production, that they are serious about what they are doing. The show is known mostly for Kristen Chenoweth's breakout performance and her second act song "My New Philosophy". (For which she won a Tony Award). The show kind of came and went. So it is interesting that gravity Defied chose it as their second production. But I see why....

Across the board, this was an entertaining cast who seemed to be enjoying every moment they spent onstage. And since the show has had a few more performances prior to my writing this, I am assuming the cast has settled into their parts. Starting with the title character, played by Danny Harrigan, his Charlie Brown is not really what we remember but he brings his own personality to it. He shines the most in the song "The Kite". And that's where you really feel him slip into the character. Benjy Schirm returns for his second show with Gravity Defied as Schroeder. Not quite as "intense" as the Schroeder we know from the cartoons or even what we might think of Schroeder visually. But once again he took the part and made it his. His interaction with Madison Kitchen as Lucy was very natural. Ms. Kitchen played her Lucy just as we know her. Very pushy! Wyatt Manola's Linus seemed a bit overplayed in Act 1 but seemed to settle in by act 2. By the end of the performance I had discarded any questions I had about his performance in Act 1. Keith Rabin, Jr. brings a nice playfulness to Snoopy. Complete with howls. He is very animated and manages to not steal a scene while being very "present". And then there is Erin Hassell. One has to give credit to Directors Keith Rabin, Jr. and Danny Harrigan for the balance in the performances as Ms. Hassell could have easily stolen the show (And almost does). She pretty much commands the stage every time she appears. As mentioned, the song "My New philosophy" is a standout in the show. Ms Hassel played the part so well that by the time she arrived at the song in the second act it was a definite "showcase song" but didn't overshadow the rest of the show. It was a bit restrained but very fun.

In such a small space it is hard to do sets. But they pulled it off! Using large "blocks" (get it?!) painted on each side to match the character's costumes, the cast moved swiftly, and in character, to move them around from scene to scene. Other set pieces were moved onto the stage including Snoopy's dog house, the most professionally looking piece of scenery. It just appeared that there was more attention paid to the dog house than the other pieces of scenery and it stood out just a bit. Also, there are scenes that take place on the floor of the stage. If you are sitting near or at the back of the middle section of the house, you miss the scenes that take place on the floor. Most notably the scenes with Schroeder and Lucy. But for the small space, every piece of scenery worked quite well.

The show will play its last performances this weekend, January 29th thru the 31st, 2010. Grab a ticket and go. It is evident that Gravity Defied is dedicated to bringing us good regional theatre. Knowing the song that the Company is named after they are so far, living up to the line in that song that says " And Nobody is gonna bring me down". Keep up the good work guys!

Final performances of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" are January 29-30 at 7:00pm and January 31st at 4:00pm at the Aurora Fox Arts Center.

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