BWW Preview: First Stage Unwraps, Happiness, Humor and the Human Condition in A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

Happiness and cheer come calling at First Stage with the debut of A Charlie Brown Christmas. The company's Artistic Director Jeff Frank had been writing this production on his own Christmas to-be-produced list in a continual effort to bring the1965 award-winning television special to the theater since he arrived in 1999. Only recently have the copyrights been released through Eric Schaeffer's stage adaptation, and Frank immediately seized the opportunity to warm Milwaukee's hearts and introduce a new generation to the world created by Charles Schulz. Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang take over the Todd Wehr Theater beginning on Friday, November 27 for a superb holiday celebration.

Frank speaks sitting in the company's rehearsal room while he works out the stage blocking for the upcoming production. He also notes the original TV special featured jazz music composed by Vince Guaraldi and then played by David Benoit to imagine a score as iconic as Schulz's characters, a true innovation in the 60's. FIrst Stage singled out the quintessential pianist Jack Forbes Wilson, of Milwaukee Rep's Liberace fame, to accompany the cast when he tinkles those ivories live on stage. Since numerous scenes require non-verbal transitions, Wilson improvised music to complement the original score, which includes the beloved melody "Christmas Time is Here." Frank explains, "Much of the music is underscored, and having Jack play live allows us to synchronize the music with what's happening in any given moment--musically accenting the events including Snoopy's non-verbal antics as they unfold."

Charles Schulz's sparse language, where characters perform their ongoing lives without words, requires these musical transitions--often filled with body movement and music in television. When directing for this live production, Frank collaborates with choreographer Jennifer Adams so these characters move through continuous scenes, what they were doing in the real time on stage during the silences. Frank adds, "Schulz used an economy of language...that stresses the diction and clarity [in speaking] that keeps the rhythm in his language.....and so what happens between the words becomes equally important."

"Acting is silence interrupted by words," Frank quotes a professional from his personal theater training. "There's so much communicated between the words, in the silence."

To delight the audience's visual senses during these silences, Costume Designer Jason Orlenko, Lighting Designer Noele Stollmack and Scenic Designer Martin McClendon envisioned a 60's vibe to the production through a more realistic interpretation of the Peanuts gang than the animated version. Matt Daniels, the only adult actor, inhabits Snoopy, and impacts and interacts with the First Stage young performers, and Frank notes, "We've been having a great time exploring the comic elements, the clowning around.... as defined by Snoopy's business [in the production] having roots in the European clown tradition."

Two separate Young Performer casts work with Daniels and his Snoopy to complete the Peanuts gang. Ben Kindler and Jake Koch take on the role of Charlie Brown, while Claire Zempel and Miranda Cecsarini become Charlie's feminine friend Lucy. Linus, Patty, Pig Pen, Sally, Schroeder, Shermy and Violet also appear on stage in this large ensemble featuring First Stage Academy students. Schulz insisted on using children's voices in the TV special because they ring with truth and humanity.' Frank agrees, and First Stage, who pioneered age appropriate casting, chose to showcase the prolific youth talent that ranges from ages 9 to 17, especially for the young boy Charlie who resembles an Everyman, heroic in his optimism and persistence.

"I often see myself in Charlie Brown, as I think we all do," Frank continues. "He has defeats, but moves forward with optimism. He's willing to take chances again and again. and when he fails, takes a chance one more time. Charlie's enduring because while he experiences those failures, he keeps hope alive, that everything is going to work out."

And while Charlie may feel let down and sad during the holidays with a case of the Christmas blues, he searches for the holiday's meaning similar to contemporary culture. When Schulz developed the television special in '65, he was already addressing commercialism, consumerism, depression and questioned the real meaning of Christmas. Schulz believed using a quote from the Gospel of Luke in the children's pageant allows the Bible, a historical and spiritual book, to become accessible for everyone.

In the past few weeks, the country has experienced an uncommon uproar over plain red coffee cups and stores being closed or open on Thanksgiving while retailer Nordstorm declared their policy "One holiday at a time." The national merchandiser will only begin decorating their stores for the Christmas season after Thanksgiving instead of before. "Perhaps the pendulum is beginning to swing the other way, coming back to a simpler celebration," Frank proposes. "Charlie Brown discovers the importance of how we come together, connect to that love we can all share."

The Peanuts gang, Charlie's friends, experience individual changes after hearing Luke's Christmas story because they had first mocked Charlie, laughed at him, for his choice of a Christmas tree. In the shadows of the horrors just seen in France, perhaps heart changes for society are necessary. Frank says,"This simply [the story] examines the human condition and the choices we make....While I hope the audience laughs," Frank says, "I think they might be surprised by how this story that we think we all know will move them."

Unwrap this charming gift given by Charles Schulz and then offered to the city by First Stage during the holiday season. A Charlie Brown Christmas presents a unique experience to share "a little love" with family and friends, and to think about that love extended throughout the world along with childlike wonder. The production runs through school vacations, and many shows are already selling out, although the run ends on January 3. "I hope the audience has a lot of fun, " Frank closes, "Schulz was a great comic writer---and I expect people to leave the theater joyful! We could all use a little joy in our lives!"

First Stage presents A Charlie Brown Christmas at the Todd Wehr Theater in the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts beginning November 27. A special grandparents brunch is planned for Sunday, December 20 (www.firststage.org/Grandparents). For other performance times and ticket information please call: 414.273.7206 or www.firststage.org.

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