Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead @ Blue Firebox Theater Co.
—Jill Sweeney
Let’s be clear from the outset: Dog Sees God: Confessions of A Teenage Blockhead by Bert V. Royal, developed for 2004’s Fringe NYC festival and billed as an “unauthorized continuation” of Charles Schulz’s classic Peanuts comic strip, may not be for Schulz purists. I mean, we’re a bit past the strip’s heyday—apart from the almost obligatory yearly viewing of A Charlie Brown Christmas, it’s fallen pretty far out of the zeitgeist. But even so, it’s more than a bit jarring to kick things off with a teenage Charlie Brown (going by “CB” these days) mourning his beloved dog (pointedly unnamed throughout) and the decidedly gruesome circumstances of said canine’s passing. I’ll try and avoid too many spoilers but suffice it to say: the end was bloody. And all this is before the underage sex, drinking, and drug use.
Blue Firebox Theater Company, a Denton-based collective of young artists, put this piece together after a mere ten days of rehearsal with only a few technical difficulties, which might be enough on its own to earn them plaudits. But beyond that, the group also managed to bring both verve and pathos to a challenging show, the tone of which takes sometimes jarring detours.
CB (played by founding BFTC member Tanner Hudson) is in a bit of an existential funk following the aforementioned doggy death. He can’t even get the old gang to come to the funeral, so it’s just him and his sister (Brenna Petersen), who claims she didn’t even like the dearly departed. And where are our old pals? Well, “Van” (a grown-up Linus, played by Austin Creswell) is too high to care; his sister and CB’s ex (Lucy, sharply played by Mercedes Slade) is in an institution following an arson incident; best friend Matt (Pig-Pen, now more figuratively than literally dirty, played by Ash Vance) is too busy trying to get laid; and the rest are looking to get drunk and hook up. The only one CB can connect to is musician “Beethoven” (Schroeder, nicely underplayed by Andrew Carroll), ostracized by the gang for his perceived sexuality and abusive home life. But when their connection becomes romantic, tragedy is set in motion.
It’s difficult to pin down what the show wants to be from moment to moment, and tonal shifts can be a bit whiplash-inducing, but there’s some fun to be had here, and this production makes the most of it. CB, much like the original character, is a bit of a downer at times, but Hudson brings out new facets as the show progresses, notably in scenes with Carroll’s Beethoven and Slade’s Lucy (billed as “Van’s Sister”). Petersen’s little sis is a whirlwind, and she got the night’s biggest laughs with her extended “transformation” performance piece of a caterpillar who longs to be a platypus (you had to be there). And she also tugged at the heartstrings in the show’s closing scenes.
The duo of Jasper/Chandler Lee and Taylor Hoyt as “Tricia” (Peppermint Patty) and Marcie had some fun comedic moments, especially when paired with Vance’s perpetual stoner-dom. Vance brought intensity to the implicitly closeted Matt (Pig-Pen-ish) character, and moments of real menace towards Carroll’s Beethoven. If there were some stumbles throughout the night, you could still sense the underlying camaraderie amongst the cast, which added a nice texture to the piece and helped ground the relationships.
The costume design was nicely realized, notably for Peterson’s character, whose shifts in persona (from Wiccan to hippy chick and beyond) came through perfectly; I also liked the subtle reversion to riffs on the gang’s original outfits by play’s end. Less successful were the play’s sound cues, which were jarringly off throughout the night; hopefully that issue can be addressed in subsequent performances.
All in all, a credible effort from a young company, especially given the time constraints they were working under; the play itself can be a bit hit-or-miss, but Blue Firebox’s production doesn’t shy away from its contradictions. It only runs through the 15th, so plan accordingly.
WHERE: The Denton Black Box, 318 E Hickory Street, Denton TX 76201
WHEN: Through January 15th
WEB: Blue Firebox Theater Co. (bluefireboxtheatercompany.com)
