A charming musical take on the well loved, quirky characters of Charles M Schultz’s Peanuts cartoon is being presented by the Miranda Musical Society.
The production works for grown ups and children alike because, like the The Simpsons, the Peanuts gang have a satisfyingly adult edge to their humour.
Take a great actor, give him some white overalls, and he becomes Schultz’s eponymous beagle, Snoopy.
Whether he is clambering on to his red kennel or sprawled inside it, Nathan Farrow’s portrayal of a loveable and quirky puppy is a standout.
His songs, complaining about the children’s expectations that he should "sit up, lie down, roll over play dead or fetch a stick" or wistfully thinking about his birthplace the puppy farm Daisy Hill, and why his mother never contacts him, all have a blend of self interest, sadness and philosophy we have come to associate with Schultz’s character.
“I first saw this musical when I was about nine-years-old when my sister, my father, and Tim Dennis our director performed it at The Guild Theatre,’’ Farrow from Engadine said. ‘‘I learned every line”.
The music is accessible and tuneful and the lyrics are wonderful. Snoopy’s big number in the show, The Big BowBow is a classic of bravado and ambition.
The children are played by adults, including Jess Punch who plays ‘in yer face’ tomboy Peppermint Patty, Tamana Russell as the optimistic Sally Brown and Lexi Hutchinson, from Gymea, as bossy-boots Lucy.
“I’m excited to bring Lucy to life as she is so unlike me; I get to boss people around and not apologise for it!,” Hutchinson said.
Of the boys, Louis Vinciguerra from Engadine is the loveable loser Charlie Brown.
“I am so excited to play Charlie brown because he is a character that is so close to my heart,” Vinciguerra says.
Paul Tuohy is the intellectual blanket carrying Linus.
Will Snoopy find his long lost mother for Mother’s Day? Will Linus meet The Great Pumpkin? Will Charlie Brown buy a new dog? Will Snoopy’s manuscript get published? Will everyone be together for Christmas?
Somehow we think you know the answer to all of these charming stories and more as Miranda Musical Society presents a charming musical adventure - a production that teaches us all not to be anything less than everything we can be!
Director Tim Dennis from Kirrawee has been a long-time Peanuts cartoon fan and played Linus in a production at the Rockdale Guild Theatre in 1988.
Snoopy: The Musical is on at the Sutherland Memorial School of Arts, June 15 to 24.
Tickets here
