Some Lag, Some Laughs: The Referential World of Dog Sees God
Since its 2004 off-broadway premier, Bert V. Royal's Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead has become a popular production among regional theaters. This can likely be attributed, in large part, to the show's built-in hook: It's a speculative look at the teenage years of the beloved Peanuts gang, subjecting them to the throes of constant angst, social drama, and self-discovery. Balagan Theatre has chosen to follow suit, opening their season at ACT with a rendition of their own, the third iteration of the drama (I'm aware of) to hit the area in as many years. The show is the premier production at ACT's brand-new venue, The Eulalie Scandiuzzi Space.
In an effort to sidestep issues of rights infringement the script renames Charles Schultz's roster, while making reference to the familiar source characters: Charlie Brown becomes CB, Peppermint Patty becomes Tricia York, the piano-playing Schroeder becomes Beethoven, and so on. But the reference doesn't go very far beyond this. Snoopy is dead, having been put to sleep after killing Woodstock in a rabies-enduced fit. The kids, mired in a caricature of high school haplessness, explore (or endure) a world of vulgarity, raging hormones, bullying, eating disorders, suicide, pyromania, and drug, alcohol, and sexual experimentation. Most of the play is comprised of perverse vignettes.
And yet, in spite of so much debauchery, the show manages a surprising degree of saccharinity, ringing at times like a Lifetime movie or an after school special, replete with moral and existential ruminations. This makes for a bizarre disconnect between the the philosophical perspective of the play and the reality it portrays. It strikes one as a textually tacked-on apology for icky behavior, which lands with a thud.
These are principally problems with the script. Reviews of productions about the country have commonly employed the use of words like, "cheap," "heavy-handed," and "clunky." (See reviews from New York, Los Angeles, and Raleigh, NC.) This isn't to suggest that the play hasn't been met with acclaim and celebrated (surely, if the show hadn't played well or didn't possess some merit if wouldn't be so appealing for re-mounting), and it isn't to make excuses for the Balagan production, but to suggest that the script itself is ripe with pitfalls, which plague productions commonly.
Pitfalls aside, the show at ACT manages several captivating, humorous, and moving moments. The homosexual courtship (maybe love?) of CB and Beethoven is rendered with a touching sensitivity. The particular performances of Harry Todd Jamieson as the stoner Van (Linus) and Bobby Temple as Beethoven brighten the show significantly, and a few powder-keg moments from Ben McFadden as Matt (Pig-Pen) strike with power, and strike the heart. Some clever design sensibilities are employed, keeping the show clipping quickly and smoothly from scene to scene, from many diverse locations.
The result is a show with lots of laughs, but lots of lag. Some commendable risks are taken and efforts underwent--the audience will enjoy some captivating and kinetic exchanges--that do not coalesce to form a particularly dynamic experience.
Thursday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m., through October 30 // ACT, 700 Union Street // $5 - $25, tickets available through ACT
