That was an odd play, Charlie Brown

[jethrien]

We saw Dog Sees God last night. Odd. Very odd.

It's about the Peanuts crew in high school. It starts with Snoopy getting rabies and killing Woodcrest and having to be put down. It goes from there into sex, drugs, and pyromania.

Parts were really funny. Other parts, not so much. The whole thing felt like what Swimming Upstream wanted to grow up to be - funny satire about high school that suddenly swerves into Saturday afternoon special territory with pathos and inspirational message. Thing is, you pretty much get the feeling that the writer still hasn't gotten over high school yet.

But it meant that we got spit on by America Ferrera, Eddie Kaye Thomas (from American Pie), and Eliza Dushku (from Buffy). (We we literally in the front row.)

Good grief.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

The play was so-so, but the company was superb.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

I believe the bird's name is Woodstock.

And Linus "Van" Pelt totally worked as a stoner.

[(Anonymous)]

I was wondering who "Woodcrest" was. How did a cultural icon named after the defining event of a generation morph into the name of a local elementary school? There must be some significance to be wrung out of this Freudian slip... or not.

OMG, I'd be scarred for life...

[freekofnature.livejournal.com]

If I saw that. Is nothing sacred?
Sweet, Innocent Linus a stoner?
Snoopy with hydrophobia? Killing Woodstock??

What kind of deranged playwright could do this?

[feiran.livejournal.com]

We saw this a few weeks back, too. I couldn't get Tricia's ungodly annoying voice out of my head for about a week. Van was my favorite. :-)

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Oh God, Tricia's voice was painful. What the hell were they thinking?

I thought the way they did the names was very clever, considering the show wasn't endorsed by Schulz's estate and was probably tap-dancing on the line of copyright infringement. Charlie Brown was only called by that name once, and was otherwise "CB", "Charles" or "Chuck B". Linus went by his middle name, Pigpen got a real name, Schroder got a nickname, Pattie became Tricia, and Sally and Lucy both became "___'s sister." Clever.

[hyouneko.livejournal.com]

Dude, I want to see this play. Although I can't figure out who Matt is. And I can totaly see linus as s stoner in high school.

[hyouneko.livejournal.com]

Actually, Van isn't Linus's middle name. It's Linus and Lucy Van Pelt. It's just the first part of his last name.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Could go either way. Sometimes Van (or Von) is considered a middle name, sometimes it's part of a last name. Ludwig V. Beethovan, anyone? A friend of mine from high school had the middle name Farmer--her mother's maiden name, because they didn't want to hyphenate, but wanted to pass on both names.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Matt is Pigpen, who carries around a bottle of hand-sanitizer and is totally germ-phobic.

[hyouneko.livejournal.com]

This confirms it, I HAVE to see this show.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Is that the Peanuts musical? Only I saw the posters for it in the subway station when I get on in the mornings, didn't work out the two were one and the same. I think I'll pass, even if I have the chance to be spat upon by Eliza Dushku.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Ummm...how about I'm exhausted, I've worked late every day this week, came in early, am probably going to stay through dinner, and have to do work on my vacation?

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

It's not as great as it might seem. It takes an abrupt turn from being funny to turning into teen angst and another damn message about being true to yourself.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Tricia was way more over the top than anyone else. Where was the director and why wasn't s/he whacking that girl upside the head and saying "no! bad! stop that!"?

[lithoglyphic.livejournal.com]

This seems vaguely like the Avenue Q concept, transferred. Somehow, I don't think I'd like it as much in the Charlie Brown flavor. :-/

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

He was...in bed...which is probably why she's allowed to run amok in this show.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

No, the musical is You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, which was an infinitely superior production. I don't think that's playing in the city at the moment.