Monday, March 24, 2014

For a Good Time See "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" - by, Shari Schweigler

                                                        
For its second production, the new Footlight Theatre Company has chosen a feel-good musical, fit for all ages.  The venue is Angelo’s Hall in Columbia, and a real treat is the live music to accompany the seven- person cast of talented singers and actors, whose voices do not require amplification.  


Patterned after the famous Charles Shultz comic strip “Peanuts,” the show will be familiar to anyone who has seen “Peanuts” TV specials.  This show is very loosely plotted though there are the familiar conflicts revolving around Charlie Brown’s  being thought of as a “loser” despite his optimism and his interest in (and fear of) the little red-haired girl. As in Broadway productions of this show, the actors are many years older than the child-like characters they play, but the script so strongly represents childhood that the audience willingly suspends disbelief and maybe even connects with some of that child still in them.  As far as children in the audience, they enjoy the “silliness” enough to be enthusiastic listeners, as evidenced by one 5-year-old named Julian.




Other well-known characters are featured in vignettes showing Lucy’s longing for piano-playing Schroeder, Snoopy’s  battle with the Red Baron, Sally’s pursuit of the right grade, and Linus’s loyal attachment to his blanket.  Lucy and Charlie seem to change the most, becoming closer friends as Lucy comes to understand her “crabbiness” and helps Charlie appreciate his uniqueness.

In each vignette there is at least one song along with some spoken dialogue, and the show plays a lot like a musical revue. That’s a good thing, what with the quality of the musicians and vocalists.  In Angelo’s Hall, audience and performers are close enough to allow perfect audibility and natural audio quality, plus good sight lines to appreciate the choreography.  The musicians get their time in the spotlight with some instrumentals in the jazzy score, but as accompanists they thankfully do not overshadow the songs or the dialogue. 

The first song of the show involved all seven performers and ended with Charlie’s plaintive, “When do the good things start?”   By the last number the cast is singing about happiness and everyone seems to have found theirs.  Audience members found theirs, too, if just for a little while.  Another thing to feel good about---the last dress rehearsal was opened to an audience as a fundraiser for the Tuolomne Co. Humane Society.

For tickets, call 209-352-5401 or visit www. Footlighttheatre.org. The show runs Thursday through Saturday nights until March 30, with matinees on both Saturdays and Sundays.
 
Reviewed by Shari Schweigler