Steadstyle Chicago
June 2009 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
Snoopy! the Musical
Charles M. Schulz's "Little People" are an integral part of every one of us. Schulz so intuitively translated his own insecurities, fear of failure and survival spirit into comic strip form that his "Peanuts" characters literally burst to life from their ink stained newsprint. We can't help but identity with lovable loser Charlie Brown, whose spirit endures even when nothing seems to go right for him. In addition to a beloved series of animated features, the "Peanuts" gang inspired two musical plays, the first and more familiar "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," and an equally charming sequel named in honor of everyone's favorite beagle "Snoopy". The latter, created by Larry Grossman and Hal Hackady, is a bit more sophisticated and not quite as funny as the first but nearly as endearing and musically catchy.
The Journeymen Theater Company has whipped up a lively, fast-paced summer entertainment that succeeds on creativity and the youthful zeal of its cast in spite of some limitations. The Coach House Theater is a tiny building tucked in the Berger Park District & Cultural Center. You might miss it if you didn't know it was there, and if you go any further east you'll be swimming in Lake Michigan. The box office is a neighboring waterfront sandwich shop, there is no lobby, restroom or backstage space so you have to wait outside till show time. Acoustically the space is less than ideal and because it's set up in-the-round, it's a struggle to hear the un-miked cast which is often drowned out by the pianist. In spite of that drawback, Director Frank Pullen and Choreographer Danny Bernardo are to be commended for the often delightful results they've gotten from their cast of 7, all of whom joyously embodies Schulz's comic strip people (both human and animal) and make them burst to life.
As with "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," we have a series of vignettes that find the "Peanuts" gang going through familiar rituals, kite flying, schoolwork, football, creative writing and of course therapy. What would good old Charlie Brown ever do without Lucy's five cent counseling session? Lucy's brother Linus is forever devoted to his security blanket as he spends every Halloween awaiting the arrival of the Great Pumpkin. There's a lot of potential romance here too, freckle-faced Peppermint Patty for "Chuck," Woodstock for a worm, Sally for Linus, and Charlie Brown's everlasting crush on the "little red headed girl" we never actually see. It was said that Schulz's real life wife may have been his inspiration for her, and there's no doubt the "Peanuts" were an extension of their creator.
The Journeymen company turn the limitations of their small space into assets. Giant cotton clouds dangle from the lighting grid above the center stage, with dog house and brightly colored boxes serving the staging nicely. Snoopy's long and usually unwieldy number "The Great Writer" is actually a highlight here with the cast taking the place of the script's suggested "Paw-pets" to clever effect. Jon Martinez's title character has "Broadway showstopper" written all over him. Juan Enrique Irizarry flutters about with friendly devotion as his yellow feathered sidekick Woodstock. Ryan Martinez's hapless Charlie Brown and Ryan Jendrycki's brainy Linus are both charmers, although the latter's "Vigil" number is almost entirely lost.
The strongest voices of the cast belong to the ladies, and what a trio Aurora Adachi-Winter, Cat Alter and Killeen McClowry make. Watch the vigilance Ms. Alter summons as Sally defends her clothes hanger sculpture project at Show and Tell and you'll want her on your legal defense team. Ms. McClowry belts the daylights out of "Poor Sweet Baby" as the lovelorn Peppermint Patty, while Ms. Adachi-Winter's Lucy is still one crab you'll love. Together, the girls' "I Know Now" is hilarious and beautifully sung. "Snoopy" is a nice intro for young people to the delights of musical theatre and a terrific showcase for a talented and energetic cast to work their magic. It runs through July 26, 2009 at 6215 North Sheridan Road in Chicago. Performances are Fridays at noon and 7:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 & 7:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. All seats are $10. Call (773) 857-5395 or visit www.thejourneymen.org.
About Joe Stead
Joe
Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has
involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing for
the past twenty-five years. He served as founder, producer and
Artistic Director of Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland
and Four Star Players in Tampa, Florida. Favorite productions
have included "Life With Father," "Deathtrap,"
"The Odd Couple," "The Miracle Worker,"
"Brighton Beach Memoirs," "You're A Good Man, Charlie
Brown" and "Godspell". He has also performed
leading roles in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin,"
"The Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and
most recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for
Waukegan Community Players. Joe holds a degree in Commercial
Art from Tampa Technical Institute. As a critic, he has
reviewed everything from Broadway to community theatre and major
regional theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey,
Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in
Sarasota, Florida.
Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America. He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers. He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene. Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays. His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).