'Charlie...' still a good man

For those of us of a certain age, the Peanuts gang was a part of growing up. Charles Schulz struck gold when he developed his distinct child characters who reflected in their own ways the world of adults never seen in the strip. Central to them all was his own alter-ego, Charlie Brown — Everyman in a striped shirt, Job-like comforting himself with a peanut butter sandwich, the poster boy for innocent losers everywhere.

In the last 15 years before Schultz’s death, the strip became a bit monotonous with the same old jokes, the same old struggles with no new solutions, the same old schtick. But that doesn’t negate its golden years when holidays weren’t complete without the Charlie Brown animated cartoons.

Eventually six of the key characters found a successful niche off-Broadway in 1967 with Clark Gesner’s creation “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,” then returned in ‘99 for an on-Broadway run, winning four Tonys but closing after 47 performances. Today, “...Charlie Brown” remains an uncomplicated audience-friendly musical that wrings maximum charm out of the simplest framework.
Heading into its last week of performance, “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” playing at Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre in Woodbridge does a commendable job of hitting the high points and bringing the Peanuts gang to life. While there is some unevenness in the interpretations, the show moves with a lively, confident rhythm, swinging from scene to scene as easily as turning pages. Every scene has been written from original cartoon strips and the dialogue is familiar.

There’s Charlie Brown alone at lunch contemplating the little red-haired girl, Lucy trying to divert Schroeder’s attention away from Beethoven, Linus analyzing his blanket habit in “My Blanket and Me,”
Sally trying out snappy comebacks in “My New Philosophy,” and Snoopy engaged in his endless hunt for the Red Baron.

There’s more, but to anyone who grew up with “Peanuts,” the characters and their short segments are as familiar as a favorite pair of slippers.

Possibly the most stunning in her complete embodiment of her role is Elisabeth Ness as Lucy. Domineering big sister, nemesis to the hapless Charlie Brown, Lucy is her quintessential self when she’s plotting to become queen. Ms. Ness in her simple, straight-forward involvement with the character is never more than Lucy and never less than completely real. She is beautifully balanced by Karen

O’Connell as Sally Brown; in fact, the girls pretty much dominate the show, traveling in their own spheres, messing with the boys, and never getting in each other’s way.
Sally’s debate with her teacher over a grade of “D” is one for the books; in fact, Sally is a cleverly placed social commentary bomb as she confuses popular pat phrases with philosophy. (“Oh yeah? That’s what you think!”) Ms. O’Connell also has a compelling singing voice, a pleasing to the ear trained quality while retaining the simplicity of Charlie Brown’s little sister.

Ensemble numbers such as “Beethoven Day,” “Glee Club Rehearsal,” and “The Baseball Game” are fully realized and underscore the nimble give and take that this cast has developed with each other. Christopher Shaw’s Schroeder plays with just a light touch of seriousness, the very young, devoted pianist faced with a world of plebeians and bourgeois tastes. He, too, pleases with his mellow vocal quality and quiet centeredness to the role.

“The Book Report,” a routine that engages the whole ensemble, centers on a report of “Peter Rabbit.” In a sparkling bit of character play, each responds to the assignment in ways that are key to their personalities. Lucy goes for the exact word count, Schroeder compares it to “Robin Hood,” Linus launches into philosophical musings, and Charlie Brown dissolves into his familiar muddle.

There are dangers in shows that require older actors to play younger ones, and for some, the temptation to resort to overly mannered and unnatural bits of childishness seems irresistible. Director Hans
Bachmann has so much going for him with this show that it’s surprising to find the kind of detours that derail the performances of Charlie Brown (Jeffrey Davis) and Linus (Benjamin Bedenbaugh). It seems as though Mr. Davis went looking for his inner cartoon character and discovered Scooby Doo instead of Charlie Brown. Everything is exaggerated where modest simplicity would have gone so much farther. There is one moment at the end of “The Baseball Game” when the losing manager stands alone, and the scene shimmers with compelling authenticity. But the moment passes.
Mr. Bedenbaugh suffers fits and starts of the same problem — sometimes in complete focus with his blanket, other times overdoing the thumb-sucking bit and the “child” voice at the expense of some of the songs. An actor faced with playing a child cartoon would do well to seek more of the humanity of the child and less of the cartoon. If anything, playing a cartoon dog should be even more daunting, but Ryan Schaffer presents a very human — and athletic — Snoopy the way we remember him: playing the flying ace, contemplating the clouds from doghouse roof, dancing and singing a joyous paean to “Suppertime.”

Overall, the show remains a small, solitary jewel. George Rouse’s set crew has devised a cartoon panel backdrop that neatly flips from outdoors to Charlie Brown’s bedroom, and Pat Koster’s costumes are bold colored and simple patterned, just as we would expect them to be.

This is not a plot but a character-centered show; nevertheless, each scene resolves itself satisfactorily and the title theme replays itself as Charlie Brown over-analyzes himself into a state of near paralysis. In the end, a modest revelation about the little red-haired girl and the understanding that he is “a good man” after all bring him the redemption he so sorely needs. (Oh yeah? That’s what I think!)

Margaret Lawrence is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association. She teaches drama and English at CCHS.

Want to go?
What: “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”
Where: Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre, Woodbridge.
Call: 703-550-7384
Playing through Sept. 14