Timeless ’toons

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This article was published 03/12/2022 (1350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Linus Van Pelt, Sally Brown and that little Beethoven fanatic Schroeder took a 15-minute break from rehearsal Wednesday afternoon to talk about their old pal Charlie Brown.

Those are, of course, the names of characters in A Charlie Brown Double Bill, a musical showcase of the beloved Charles M. Schulz comic strip, on now until Dec. 23 at Manitoba Theatre for Young People.

“When you ask us to introduce ourselves left to right, did you mean our left, or your left?” asks Schroeder, played by 20-year-old Brady Barrientos. Good grief: theatre kids.

Next to say hello was Linus, played by Kris Cahatol, 20, who didn’t have a security blanket handy. Last to pipe in was Sally Brown, Charlie’s pesky little sister, played by Hazel Wallace.

“What I like about Sally is that she’s an ‘ideas’ kind of gal,” says Wallace, 21. “And she doesn’t necessarily have a filter. And I really didn’t have one either when I was her age.”

Cahatol, who uses he/they pronouns, chuckles. They have firsthand knowledge of Wallace’s Sallyness. Fifteen years ago, the pair were in the same kindergarten class, and now, as young adults, Wallace and Cahatol find themselves in the same cast.

Actually, all three actors know one another. Barrientos and Wallace met in middle school at music camp, where Wallace’s friend had a crush on one of Barrientos’s friends.

“We tried to infiltrate your friend’s group,” Wallace admits.

“What? Why have I never heard this?” Barrientos asks.

Offstage, Barrientos and Cahatol are dating; both are studying classical voice at the University of Manitoba’s Desautel faculty of music, as is Wallace.

The three young actors have an interesting distinction as depictors of Schulz’s iconic characters: none lived a single day during which the Peanuts creator drew or wrote; he died in February 2000, at the age of 77.

They grew up with different cartoons and comic strips. “I had an app on my iPod with only Garfield comics, because I’m such a nerd,” Barrientos says.

Cahatol saw MTYP’s 2017 production of the double bill, featuring scenes from You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Christmas, and fell in love. “I liked the Suppertime (number) because Snoopy just goes so hard,” Cahatol said.

But as allergy kids can attest, the Peanuts are inescapable: Charlie Brown is as ubiquitous around Halloween as pumpkins on a stoop, and as important to Christmas for some as a stocking hanging above the fireplace.

Schulz’s characters — brought to life by a creative team including director Pablo Felices-Luna, associate director Jillian Willems, choreographer Sara Topham and arranger Paul De Gurse — transcend generations, as evidenced by the recent celebration of Schulz’s centenary: on Nov. 26, 1922, the cartoonist was born in Minneapolis.

One hundred years later, Wallace, Barrientos and Cahatol still find something true and honest in their characters.

“Schroeder is a funny little lad who loves music. Every time it’s Beethoven’s birthday — Dec. 16 — he makes a big deal of it,” says Barrientos. A minor character in the Peanuts universe, Schroeder, Barrientos says, would definitely be a music major too.

“In my opinion, Linus is a very lovable character. He’s unashamed of being a child, and he always has his blanky,” says Cahatol.

The three actors each took a BuzzFeed quiz to figure out which character they are in real life — “Very official,” Wallace says — and the results were split. Cahatol got Schroeder, while Wallace and Barrientos both got Snoopy.

But Barrientos doesn’t think any one character can encapsulate a whole persona. “What makes these characters so fun is that they’re honest, even if they aren’t always likable. Lucy is definitely not always likable,” Barrientos says. “But I love Becky (Frohlinger, the Winnipeg-raised actor who plays Linus’s sister.)”

Almost as quickly as the trio sits down, they are summoned back to rehearsal by the voice of the adult in the room.

Back to school they go.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com