Dog Sees God
"Happiness is... totally fu%#ed up" at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood, and has been for several weeks as the Los Angeles Premiere of "Dog Sees God" is closing within weeks. (I was late to the party)
Snoopy has died from rabies, CB might be gay, CB's sister (you know her as Sally) is having a major identity crisis, Van (you know him as Linus) is a stoner,Matt (you know him as Pigpen) is a homophobic monster, and Van's sister (you know her as Lucy) is in a mental ward for lighting fire to the hair of a little redheaded girl.
The Havok Theatre proves to the world that there is brilliant theatre in Los Angeles!
Anyone who has ever wanted to revisit their high-school days, will surely change their mind, as writer, Bert V. Royal reminds us that it's no different than the stress of bills and multi-responsibilities. This production defines the term "ensemble." Director Nick DeGruccio has put together a concerted cast, feeding off of trust for one another, each listening intently to what the other is saying--a rare trait found in young talent. An eloquent Joseph Porter leads the cast as CB, whose erotic homophobic sedition to protect his friend steals our hearts within the middle of the play highlighting the fact that -You can't help who you fall in love with.
Jaden Leigh (Van) defines "comic timing", allowing the writer to get a laugh, then immediately sneaking in like a comic mastermind to kidnap a paroxysm of laughter from the audience for himself. Flibbertigibbet Tricia, (Lauren Robyne)and best friend Marcy (April Shih) create hysterical juxtaposed sequences of reading each other's minds.
Andrea Bowen is as talented on stage as she is on ABC's Desperate Housewives With each of Bowen's endless costume changes, a new character reveals her path to self discovery. Wyatt Fenner plays restive yet muddleheaded Beethoven. Fenner possesses an expert quality of performance, commingled with a lachrymose delivery of dialogue. DeGruccio is a laudably effective storyteller, dedicating himself to inspiring an audience using respectable, gifted talent and ideological blueprints usually found on Broadway or the big screen. The single aggravation that I find important to mention, is that of actors running full speed off stage left, only to come to a halting stop before disappearing backstage. Set Designer Tom Burderwitz deserves kudos for his very cleanly decorated background and to Lighting Designer, Stephen Young for setting the finely tuned mood of the lively characters.
On a grading scale: A+
Side note: At intermission, I walked to the concession stand to purchase a soda when, to my surprise, a young man was complaining about the production. "I grew up a big fan of the Peanuts characters, and I feel that this is an offense to Charles Shultz," he said to a smiling barista whose eyes happened to be glazed over (possibly having an Ally McBeal moment, imagining smacking the kid upside the head a few times). "I was forced to come see this play for class," he whined. "I won't know what to say." He finished his remarks and sat down, sipping his hot chocolate on the hottest day of the year. I approached him, unable to hold back, and with a friendly smile said, "It's about opening your mind, Charlie Brown."
He ignored me. ;(
Written by: Bert V. Royal
Directed by: Nick DeGruccio
Produced by: Chad Borden
Set design: Tom Buderwitz
Lighting design: Stephen Young
Sound Design: Fionnegan Murphy
Stage Manager: Todd Nielsen
Cast: Joseph Porter, Jaden Leigh, Lauren Robyne, Andrea Bowen, Wyatt Fenner, Christine Lakin, Nick Ballard, and Megan McNulty
Note: In the performance reviewed, The role of Tricia (usually played by Christine Lakin) was played by Lauren Robyne and jumping into Robyne's role (Marcy) was assistant director, April Shih. It was an apparent last minute emergency, and impossible to tell a difference.
Hudson Backstage Theatre
6539 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Tickets: 323-960-7774
Closes on July 6th*