Page 65 - Sonoma County Gazette Sept 2017

The Elephant Man now at Curtain Call
Director Marty Pistone honors both the simplicity and complexity of Schulz’s style with his sure-footed direction of this production. His diverse cast, while bearing slight physical resemblance to the world-renowned characters, captures each one’s inner character - Dominic Williams’ angst-ridden Charlie Brown, Cooper Bennet’s quiet but self-assured intellectual Linus, Amy Webber’s alpha- crab Lucy, Robert Finney’s musically-focused Schroeder, Katie Kelley’s frustrated Sally, and Eric Weiss’ manic puppy Snoopy – with assistance from some basic costuming and an occasional wig.
Curtain Call Theatre proudly presents its current production of this fine play with another distinguished cast, a hallmark of CCT.
The Elephant Man was suggested by the life of John Merrick, known as The Elephant Man. It is recounted by Sir Fredrick Treves in The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences, published originally in 1923.
It’s the 50th anniversary of the original off-Broadway production which was itself a sort of spin-off of an original “concept” album by Clark Gesner. A 1999 Broadway revival brought three additional songs by Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family). The show itself is a series of vignettes, live comic strip panels if you
will, which cover familiar Peanuts territory. The kite-eating tree, the baseball game, Lucy’s Psychiatric Help Booth, Schroeder’s piano, the little red-headed
girl (Siena Warnert) and Snoopy’s Sopwith Camel all make appearances. Music often accompanied these scenes with music director Ginger Beavers and a small four-piece orchestra performing such titles as “The Kite”, “The Doctor is In”, and “Happiness”.
Bernard Pomerance’s own knowledge of the subject came via his brother Michael, who told him the story, provided him with xeroxes of Treves’ memoirs until he came to his own copy, and sent him Ashley Montague’s reprinted account of Treves’ in The Elephant Man, A Study in Human Dignity. The book included photographs of Merrick as well as of Merrick’s model for St. Phillip’s Church.
REVIEW:“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at 6th Street Playhouse
SEEKING VOLUNTEER PROVIDERS
AND NURSES The Jewish Community
Free Clinic is seeking volunteer Providers (MD, DO, NP, and PA) and Nurses (RN and LVN) to help us provide care at our weekly drop-in clinics.
SHIFTS INCLUDE:
Monday Mornings 9am-12pm,
Monday Evenings 5pm-8pm, Tuesday Afternoons 3pm-5:30pm, and Thursday Evenings 5pm-8pm. The minimum contribution is only one shift per month, which goes
a long way in providing care to those in need.
All direct services are provided by volunteers so it simply can’t be done without the generosity and dedication of people like you.
If you are interested, please pick up an application or download one from our website. Submit it us either at our mailing address or by emailing it to cr, 50 Montgomery Dr, Santa Rosa 707) 585-7780, www.jewishfreeclinic.org
by Harry Duke
A citizen of Santa Rosa who criticizes anything Charles Schulz / “Peanuts”-
related runs the risk of being run out of town on the next Smart Train. This theatre critic took on that risk and attended the opening night performance of the 6th Street Playhouse production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I’m happy to report that I won’t be taking an unscheduled rail trip anytime soon.
Simplicity was one of the keys to the success of Schulz’s creation – simplicity of drawing, simplicity of character, simplicity of style. This simplicity masked the complexity of emotions and behavior that Schulz was able to address in his long- running comic strip.
Eric Weiss ~ Photos by Eric Chazankin
Merrick’s face was so deformed he could not express any emotion at all. His speech was very difficult to understand without practice by the listener.
Musical highlights included the charming “My Blanket and Me” featuring Bennet’s Linus dancing with his baby blue security blanket (Warnert), and the joyous “Suppertime”, where a hyperkinetic Weiss presents Snoopy’s ode to his favorite time of day.
At the request of the author, we have not attempted to reproduce Merrick’s appearance or speech realistically. The author felt (and we agree) that this would prove counterproductive and would be more a distraction from the play than an enhancement. Hence the screen projections would suffice to give the audience an impressionistic vision of the character and concentrate on his humanity at the same time.
The comic strip feel of the show is helped immensely through the presence of animated projections created by Chris Schloemp. These along with several Schulz- inspired set pieces and the aforementioned costumes and wigs went a long way into getting the audience to “buy into” the concept of a live action comic strip.
The play concentrates on the man’s
experiences, his wit, his humor, and
his sense of self, which he discovered
after his life changed and he became an actual celebrity of his time. Full of colorful characters and much impressions of Victorian England, this production tries to offer you an honest view of another time, another world.
I saw an absolutely terrible production of this a few years back when a theatre full of elementary school students came this close to turning into a European- soccer-match-style mob after failing to adapt to human beings playing their favorite comic strip characters – particularly Snoopy. Preparing your younger audience members for what they will see may go a long way in smoothing the path to an enjoyable evening of family theatre. The cast will do the rest.
We invite you to take the journey back to a time and place, not unlike ours, where morbid curiosity and inhumane treatment of those that don’t appear
to fit in the accepted norm was common practice. We urge you to open your minds and hearts and look deep inside yourselves for your own humanity and strength of character that make you exceptions to the rule.
Like paging through one of the “Peanuts” compendium books, 6th Street Playhouse’s delightful You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown will make you smile – a lot.
The Elephant Man opens September 1 and plays for 10 performances only through September 23. For Details and Reservations call 707-524-8739.
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Presented by 6th Street Playhouse through September 17 - Thurs/Fri/Sat @ 7:30pm, Sat & Sun @ 2pm 6th Street Playhouse 52 W 6th St Santa Rosa, CA 95401 (707) 523-4185 www.6thstreetplayhouse.com
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But it all really comes down to the cast. Each has their moment while gelling very well as an ensemble. They can sing, they can move, and they can surrender to the child within themselves in bringing these characters to life. Much as
how Snoopy was the break-out character from the strip, Weiss’s frenzied puppy frequently steals the show. With his understated performance, however, Bennett gets the show’s “awwww” moment when his Linus deals with Lucy’s physical bluster with verbal kindness.
And smiles don’t come easy these days.