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