Seasonal Schulz double bill delivers plenty of Peanuts

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This article was published 08/12/2022 (1398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Theatre for Young People first presented this Charles Schulz-inspired musical mash-up in the before times, back in December 2017.

The cast is all new, but director Pablo Felices-Luna sticks very closely to his original staging, at the risk of making it feel a bit redundant for returning audiences.

Fortunately, the basic concept remains strong, seasonally appropriate and very kid-friendly. Presented in an engaging theatre-in-the-round configuration, the 90-minute show divides between an abridged version of Clark Gesner’s 1967 Broadway musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown in its first part, and a faithful staging of the animated 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas in its second half.

That is to say it really is a double bill instead of an integrated singular piece. Charlie Brown (played by Ben Ridd) expresses self-doubt and alienation but more or less resolves these feelings by intermission. Then he does it again in the second act, with snow. Instead of show tunes, Part 2 is set to the indelibly cool jazz of Vince Guaraldi.

The show has an additional rationale for its return: the centenary of Peanuts comic creator Schulz, who would have turned 100 this past November. Schulz revolutionized the comic strip with material that gave children a layer of unprecedented depth and sophistication.

That quality shines through especially in the musical iteration, in the rebellious song My New Philosophy, sung by Charlie’s little sister Sally, a perverse ode to juvenile contrarianism well performed by Hazel Wallace.

As the round-headed kid at the centre of it all, Ridd is especially plaintive as Charlie Brown when singing. Charlie’s eternal foil is the brash Lucy Van Pelt, Schroeder-lover, nickel psychiatrist and combination of cheerleader and tormentor. Becky Frohlinger may be the most diminutive member of the cast, but she’s a powerhouse who fits the role by sheer force of will. (One recalls Lucy’s threats to her brother Linus: “I’ll belt you.” Frohlinger’s Lucy has the belt to back it up.)

In both halves, the show’s wild card is Snoopy, here played by Duncan Cox. He’s a fun presence for the kids, even if Cox doesn’t fully exploit Snoopy’s licence to get well and truly unleashed, although he comes close in the signature song Suppertime.

As Lucy’s blanket-toting brother Linus, Kris Cahatol has a tentative stage presence that belies the character’s piquant wisdom. Fortunately, by the climax of A Charlie Brown Christmas, when Linus recites a biblical passage from the Book of Luke, that tentative quality finally gives way to an emotional potency.

The show’s onstage band — Brady Barrientos, Natalie Bohrn and Eric Roberts — double as characters (Schroeder, Frieda and Pig-Pen, respectively), but mostly express themselves through their instruments.

The show allows some playful interchange between the kids in the audience and the performers. But one wonders how much impact the Peanuts gang might have beyond that.

After all, Schulz knew in his bones how tough it can be to be a kid, when a sandlot baseball game carries the weight of the world on its outcome. One can’t help but wonder if kids in the audience will have ever experienced that kind of gravitas in the current culture.

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