2008 Woodie Awards
'Dog Sees God': the Peanuts parody Charles Schulz doesn't want you to see
Michael Bury, Reporter
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Entertainment
If you ever wondered what happened to Charlie Brown and the gang, director Robert Dennick Joki's production of "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead" at the Oakland Center for the Arts in Youngstown is the behind-the-music sob story of the beloved Peanuts crew.
The play is an unauthorized parody that takes the Peanuts characters from the Charles Schulz comic strip and places them 10 years into the future, smack dab in the middle of high school.
The dark comedy starts out with CB, based on Charlie Brown, writing to his never-heard-from pen pal about Snoopy being put to sleep, due to rabies. Contemplating what happens after we die, CB tries to go to his friends and family about his problems, but unfortunately everyone is too self-involved to really help him. Matt, adapted from Pigpen, is a sex-addicted neat freak; best friend Van, based on Linus, turned to pot after someone burned his security blanket; Tricia and Marci (Peppermint Patty and Marci) are alcoholic mean girls; and CB's sister is searching for her own identity. CB ends up re-establishing contact with his old friend Beethoven (Schroeder), who may or may not be a homosexual. Don't let the old Peanuts comics fool you. With such topics as drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion and sexual identity, this play is not for children.
Gary Shackleford is excellent as the loveable loser that Charles Schulz created and playwright Bert V. Royal adapted into CB. Shackleford's scenes with Greg Mocker, who plays Beethoven, are riveting. Their parodied portrayals leave audiences on the edge of their seats wondering what is going to happen as they explore their sexuality.
Another standout performance comes from Amato D'Apolito, who is hilarious as CB's best friend Van. D'Apolito captures the clueless, philosophical stoner we have all known from high school days.
The drawback of the show is its spurts of preachiness, condemning the audience for the problems teenagers face. At other times it feels like the playwright is trying to be a little too "in-your-face" with the characters.
For instance, Van's sister Lucy is a pyromaniac institutionalized for lighting the Little Red-Haired Girl's hair on fire because CB used to have a crush on her.
This is community theater at its best. The cast and crew do an excellent job of bastardizing Charles Schulz's saccharine creation. And with the power being harnessed from Schulz's spinning dead body, you'll be doing your part for the environment. Either way it's win-win.
WHEN 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
WHERE The Oakland
HOW MUCH adults $15, seniors $12, students $10
The play is an unauthorized parody that takes the Peanuts characters from the Charles Schulz comic strip and places them 10 years into the future, smack dab in the middle of high school.
The dark comedy starts out with CB, based on Charlie Brown, writing to his never-heard-from pen pal about Snoopy being put to sleep, due to rabies. Contemplating what happens after we die, CB tries to go to his friends and family about his problems, but unfortunately everyone is too self-involved to really help him. Matt, adapted from Pigpen, is a sex-addicted neat freak; best friend Van, based on Linus, turned to pot after someone burned his security blanket; Tricia and Marci (Peppermint Patty and Marci) are alcoholic mean girls; and CB's sister is searching for her own identity. CB ends up re-establishing contact with his old friend Beethoven (Schroeder), who may or may not be a homosexual. Don't let the old Peanuts comics fool you. With such topics as drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion and sexual identity, this play is not for children.
Gary Shackleford is excellent as the loveable loser that Charles Schulz created and playwright Bert V. Royal adapted into CB. Shackleford's scenes with Greg Mocker, who plays Beethoven, are riveting. Their parodied portrayals leave audiences on the edge of their seats wondering what is going to happen as they explore their sexuality.
Another standout performance comes from Amato D'Apolito, who is hilarious as CB's best friend Van. D'Apolito captures the clueless, philosophical stoner we have all known from high school days.
The drawback of the show is its spurts of preachiness, condemning the audience for the problems teenagers face. At other times it feels like the playwright is trying to be a little too "in-your-face" with the characters.
For instance, Van's sister Lucy is a pyromaniac institutionalized for lighting the Little Red-Haired Girl's hair on fire because CB used to have a crush on her.
This is community theater at its best. The cast and crew do an excellent job of bastardizing Charles Schulz's saccharine creation. And with the power being harnessed from Schulz's spinning dead body, you'll be doing your part for the environment. Either way it's win-win.
WHEN 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
WHERE The Oakland
HOW MUCH adults $15, seniors $12, students $10
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