Like many regular followers of Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip “Peanuts,” I occasionally tried to imagine what would happen to Charlie Brown and his little sister Sally, Linus and Lucy Van Pelt, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Schroeder and Pigpen if they were allowed to grow up. Bert V. Royal has evidently had the same notion, but unlike the rest of us has acted on his vagary in developing the curiously titled play: Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.

Royal’s scenario advances Schulz’s cartoon characters by roughly ten years which effectively puts them in their senior year at High School. Playful pastimes like keeping a kite in the air and winning a baseball game have given way to darker issues such as homophobia, bullying and drug and alcohol addiction. As in Schulz’s original narratives, there is no “adult” participation, so, it’s left to the kids to resolve their conflicts.

Not surprisingly, the work has never been endorsed or sanctioned by the Schulz estate (Schulz himself died in February, 2000) or the United Features Syndicate. But despite the cryptic (and legally necessary) aliases the character inferences are unmistakable.

The language and persona of the beloved “Peanuts” gang was frozen in time around the sixties or seventies. However, director Laura McLean has brought this mounting right into the present decade, so that some of the characters personalities are radically altered.

"Good grief," the all-purpose response to Charlie Brown’s frustration with life has been substituted by much more colourful expletives. Despite his conviction to the edgier dialogue, I felt that Ryan Mooney’s take on the central role was inconsistent with the character's unique foibles. His confusion over the loss of his pet beagle (the name Snoopy is never mentioned) manifesting itself into perceived sexual self discovery was less than convincing.

After all, C.B.’s exploration into homosexuality is not that difficult to accept to avid readers of the original comic strip, considering his dismal failure with the “red-haired girl” and the abuse suffered at he hands of the bossy Lucy. Also oddly quaint was that while he had grown intellectually, he still maintained the same manner of dress as an 8-year-old in wearing the famous Charlie Brown yellow shirt with the black jagged-stripe.

The most drastic identity shift is with Matt (read Pigpen.) Lucas Schroeder (why wasn’t he given the role of Schroeder?) gives a tense, slightly over-the-top performance; trading insouciant innocence for a homophobic, sociopathic demeanour.

Not too far behind is CB's sister (read Sally Brown) played with a quirky edge by Christine Quintana, once a precocious, happy-go-lucky kid, she is now a brooding outsider, indulging in offbeat performance art.

Capilano College graduate, Amanda Williamson, who pretty much stole the show with her delightfully campy portrayal of the posturing Sharpay in the Uncle Randy production of High School Musical last Fall, brings much of the same Valley Girl shtick to this performance. Along with Nikohl Boosheri as Marci (read Peppermint Patty and Marcie) they provide the play’s lighter moments.

There is, perhaps, an accidental irony in Beethoven (read Schroeder) being seen as the play’s most complex character. Even in Schulz’s latter comic strips, Schroeder, constantly hunched over the keys of his toy piano is recognized as the most detached of the “Peanuts” gang. Alexander Keurvorst gave the role an enigmatic quality that was hard to forget.

Matt Clarke and Odessa Cadieux-Rey round out this talented cast, many of whom take on duties as production crew.

Overall, this play works well when it emulates Schulz’s thought-provoking humour, but unfortunately tends to lose direction when attempting to shock.

© 2008 John Jane