Nov. 24--Of all the holiday shows in the world, Emerald City Theatre's "A Charlie Brown Christmas," based on the beloved 1965 animated special, is the Charlie Browniest.
Ernie Nolan's staging aims for the sweet spot between feeding adult nostalgia and satisfying a new generation of tykes. The result is a sweetly earnest endeavor that doesn't quite overcome the challenge of substituting real actors for the quirky animated originals of Charles M. Schulz's "Peanuts" gang. It's difficult, for example, to re-create the dreamlike magic of the kids playing "crack the whip" on a proscenium stage.
Still, it's a good and time-efficient choice for family entertainment in the middle of the Michigan Avenue madhouse -- and it might even spark some useful conversations about the seasonal commercialism that so plagues young Master Brown (even though Coca-Cola commissioned the television special in the first place).
Opening with a montage of other period holiday shows on a big black-and-white console TV (including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," which, at 51, is the big brother to the "Peanuts" holiday gang), Eric Schaeffer's script (adapted from Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson's original) makes its play early for comfortable familiarity. But he also adds a handful of interludes and characters not in the TV version.
Snoopy and Woodstock (both played by puppets designed by Lolly Puppets and skillfully worked by Isabella Karina Coelho and Micah Kronlokken) have a friendly competition over Christmas decorations, and projected thought balloons tell us what Snoopy has on his mind. As always, the beagle is a crowd-pleaser, though I think slightly larger versions of the cunning canine and his feathered friend might read better visually -- and anyone who has seen the cartoon knows that Snoopy has an amazing ability to seem larger-than-life, especially when the music starts.
Speaking of music: the onstage band includes Peppermint Patty (Elizabeth Sandej-Schmidt) -- who didn't enter the original "Peanuts" universe until 1966 -- on bass instead of Pig Pen (Jeff Kurysz), who kicks up a dust storm behind the drums. Schroeder (Alex Benjamin) is of course on keyboards, and the Vince Guaraldi score is as irresistible as ever -- even if Nolan's choreography tosses in some "West Side Story" finger snaps that probably won't register with the young 'uns.
As Charlie, David Wesley Mitchell excels at projecting deadpan melancholia (never an easy task), and Denzel Love's endearing Linus makes an excellent wingman. (Love's delivery of Linus' "true meaning of Christmas" Gospel speech won applause, but I'll go out on a limb and say that the show should work for non-Christians seeking a message of good cheer and friendship as well.)
Nolan has the actors moving through the auditorium at points, which works best for a dancealong/singalong at the very end. A bit more of that spontaneity and willingness to reach out to the young audience would help Schaeffer's script and this production, which at times needs to worry less about being faithful to the familiar and -- like Charlie Brown himself -- just loosen up.
Kerry Reid is a freelance critic.
ctc-arts@tribpub.com
When: Through Jan. 3
Where: Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St.
Running time: 45 minutes
Tickets: $16-$35 at 800-775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com
