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Published Friday, November 2, 2001 'Charlie Brown' is filled with good ol' amiability By Pat Craig CONTRA COSTA TIMES Turning the "Peanuts" comic strip into a musical seems, at first blush, to be a slam-dunk -- beloved characters, comically poignant situations -- but it's not. The line between mawkish and charming is a thin one that can spell the difference between a delightful evening and a very long one. Yet by keeping it as simple as Charles Schulz intended and letting the material work its own quiet magic, Crossroads Theatre has produced a bubbling, delightful and, yes, charming version of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." The musical, first produced in the early '60s, then rewritten for a recent Broadway revival, uses "Peanuts" strips for a series of blackouts and sketches that trace a day in the life of Charlie Brown. There is no plot to speak of, just a slice of cartoon life, but as a whole, the production is enormously entertaining, with enough genuine humor and heart to keep both adults and children quite happy. The gentle sentiment of Schulz's "Peanuts" tends to work best as theater of the mind. There, the adventures of the wise-guy dog and hapless Charlie Brown, teetering from the printed page on the edge of maudlin, turn sunny and enchanting when filtered through childhood memories. Crossroads has managed to capture this sensibility by staging the show with the straightforward simplicity of the comic strip. Things are as colorful as a Sunday strip; the sets, ranging from Snoopy's doghouse to a school bus, have a hand-sketched feel to them; and even the characters' costumes, right down to Charlie Brown's zigzag-patterned shirt, appear to have been drawn with pen and ink. This, teamed with an artfully guileless cast and crisp direction by Jennifer Lynn Schwarz, gives the entire play a sharp focus and a witty warmth that makes the two-hour running time (including intermission) fly by. Songs in the show are hardly memorable outside the play, but serve well to move the story along and allow cast members the chance for a bit of tuneful dancing. There are some nice musical touches, including "Beethoven Day," by Schroeder (David Judson), "My New Philosophy" by Schroeder and Sally (Kimberly Baker), "Red Baron" by Snoopy (Noah Haydon), and the show-stopping "Suppertime," a backyard production number featuring Snoopy backed by the entire cast. Michael Vetrovec, as Charlie Brown, is the glue that holds the piece together. Vetrovec, a sly comic actor, brings the necessary innocence to the role, and provides a captivating character who seems to fit with our notions of what good ol' Charlie Brown ought to be like. Baker is also a delight as Sally, Charlie Brown's sister. She gives the role a remarkable vocal character, and is able to convincingly play the youngest of the "Peanuts" crew. The rest of the cast is also tremendous: Judson, Haydon, Kelly Graham and David Neufeld all bring rock-solid performances to the show. Think of it as a pleasant, pre-holiday treat. Now, with three solid shows this season, Crossroads is proving itself to be an excellent addition to the Central Contra Costa theater community. The company, as California Theatre Arts, has been around for some time, but this arm of the group, producing plays with seasoned performers, is an excellent example of what the area's community theater of the future will be like. --------------- Address of original story: http://www.contracostatimes.com/timeout/stories_feattop/x2brown_20011102.htm (c) 2001 Contra Costa Newspapers |