Charlie Brown (Jordan Broatch) is the young hero of Charles Schulz’s beloved Peanuts comic strip, which ran for fifty years, starting in 1950.
The larger than life characters are a kind of infant school Five Children and It (It being the dog, Snoopy), but what preoccupies them is a series of tiny dramatic vignettes on romance, body image, shyness, daydreams, and education.
Charlie’s sister Sally (Millie Robins), siblings Linus (Jacob Cornish) and Lucy (Eleanor Fransch), piano prodigy Shroeder (Troy Yip), and the smartest canine in the room ricochet from lunch glances to school projects, Valentines, doggy daydreams, and ball games.
When adult actors portray children, it is often a tricky proposition. Broatch’s Charlie Brown is as sweet and neurotic as the character appears in print and the animated TV specials. They are a actor to keep an eye on for future shows.
I enjoyed Snoopy (Oliver Sidney)’s switch from laconic, don’t care, sleepy dog to intrepid rabbit hunter and snazzy showstopper, and the musical aptly references his constant fascination with obliterating Germany’s Red Baron.
For Cornish’s Linus, the move from toddler to long pants is a tricky one. He sucks his thumb, lisps, and cuddles his blanket – a number around this is the closest to a chorus line of waving support props.
The songs by Clark Gesner and Andrew Lippa feel generic and not always memorable, but Harry Style’s energetic leadership of the accompanying band captures an atmosphere that underscores the magic of growing up.
I know this was a production that originated in the 1960s with live actors, and that it must by necessity be cartoonish, but the skipping around between short scenes didn’t work for me and I longed for both plot and precision.
Despite inspired set design (by Ruby Boswell-Green) that reminds us we are in an animated world, larger than life, I felt that this revival was missing a little of the energy that accompanies a child’s world-view.
Lucy and Sally wear bright primary colours and soft pastels, respectively. Snoopy has a dog bone bow-tie. Charlie is all awkward loose-limbs, Shroeder the smug prodigy who screams at the thought of kissing a girl.
These are five year olds, with short attention spans. The pace needs to be breathtaking, breakneck, and brash. Whether it was the lighting, the staging, or the vastness of the stage, I felt something didn’t quite click in this production.
Still, revivals are always welcome, and the new management at Upstairs at the Gatehouse seems determined to keep up the venue’s reputation for punching high and reviving old favourites alongside vibrant new work.
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, directed by Amanda Noar, continues Upstairs at the Gatehouse until 14 Jan with tickets at www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com.
Image credit: Simon Jackson