You're still good Charlie Brown!
Peanuts and the gang are back but in quite a different fashion; they are all grown up. In Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, presented by the Rice Players, Charlie Brown and his friends are teenagers and, while they might be fictional, they face real and relevant problems. The cast of the show is small but strong and manages to give each character life. Bert Royal's play, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, originally premiered on May 3, 2004. Starting in New York City, the off-Broadway production quickly spread throughout the United States, claiming several awards in 2004 and 2006. Royal's dramatic parody addresses contemporary issues that teens deal with, from drugs to homosexuality. The story opens on C.B. (Charlie Brown) right after his beloved dog Snoopy has passed away.
His dog's death leads him to question where dogs and humans go in the afterlife, which leads C.B. down an unpredictable path as he tries to figure out who he is. C.B.'s friends have changed a decent amount since we last saw them: Now they drink hard liquor and smoke just about anything. Toward the end of the play, the characters are struck with tragedy, which brings C.B. closer to a friend that lives up in the clouds.
This play does not call for many actors, so having a strong cast is crucial to its execution. C.B., played by Brown College sophomore Ben Seidensticker, is nearly flawless, as he creates a real character with complexity through his tone, physicality and connection to the other characters. C.B.'s sister (Jones College freshman Hayley Jones), a rebellious and dramatic girl, holds her own through most of her scenes. The opening scene for Jones lacks any emotional complexity, but as the show progresses, her performance slowly improves. Van, played by Hanszen College senior Benjamin Cuthrell, and Matt, played by electrical and computational engineering graduate student Jeff Worne each nail their characters well - Van as the stoner and Matt as the sex-obsessed party boy. Beethoven, played by Martel College freshman Humberto Gilmer, is an interesting teenager
who deals with prejudice as he is deemed the "high school queer." Gilmer's performance is average, as he makes Beethoven the awkward, out-of-place boy who lacks chemistry with his new-found lover. The two silly, giggly girls, Marcy, played by Sid Richardson sophomore Jasmine Pierreauguste and Tricia, played by Martel College senior Sigrid Owen, are hilarious and cruel. If you love the movie Mean Girls, then you will love their characters.
The set and props of this play are perfect in their simplicity and functionality. Surprisingly enough, each cast member manages to be easily heard without the assistance of a microphone. Hopefully this will not be a problem after the first couple of performances.
Overall, the scene changes are not too awkward because music
distracts the audience from slight prop changes on stage. The rest of the technical elements are average for university theatre. Rob Kimbro (Sid '95) does a fine job of directing this play. In all my years at Rice, this is the best production by the Rice Players and is definitely worth the ticket price.
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