Royal Purple

Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: submitted Amanda Franecki and Savannah Hardyman practice their lines at a rehearsal last Wednesday.

Many people are familiar with the classic comic and cartoon series Peanuts; no doubt having seen their various holiday specials throughout the years.

While the Peanuts characters are always portrayed as children in the comics and cartoons, audiences will have the chance to see what the characters may have been like grown up in the UW-Whitewater play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.

The play is the opening of the 2008-2009 production season for the UW-Whitewater Theatre and Dance department.

In the comedy play Dog Sees God, audiences will follow the cast of characters, based on the famous Peanuts kids, as they make their way through modern day high school.

The play tackles many of the problems high school students face today, including sex, drugs, violence, eating disorders and suicide.

Not only does CB, the teenage version of Charlie Brown, face the challenges of high school life, he has to face the death of his beloved dog.

While the play is comic, it includes many serious ideas and moments. The play was written by Bert V. Royal and is directed by Jim Butchart.

"Prior to the beginning of the play he [Beethoven] was sexually assaulted by his father and coined as a "fag" by all of his friends," sophomore Chris Gonyo said. Gonyo plays Beethoven, the character formerly known as Schroeder in the Peanuts' series. "The rest of the Peanuts gang banishes him from their inner circle of friends leaving Beethoven alone and struggling."

Butchart warns that the play has adult language and subject matter. As the play deals with sex, drugs, suicide and other serious issues, some may find the play offensive.

"What makes this play so interesting is that the playwright has taken classic children's characters and turned them into classic teenage stereotypes," senior Amanda Franecki said, who plays Tricia, the teenage version of Peppermint Patty. "The play is all about dealing with expectations. The biggest challenge in this play was being able to play a stereotypical teenager who was a grown-up version of a cartoon character while retaining some sense of realism."

The cast consists of current UW-Whitewater students.

Franecki plays Tricia, senior David Franz plays CB, Gonyo plays Beethoven, junior Savannah Hardyman plays Marcy, freshman John Lichtwalt plays Matt, senior Saundra Montijo plays CB's Sister, sophomore Jason Rohn plays Van, and sophomore Shantelle Szyper plays Van's Sister.

Dog Sees God will premiere Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and will run until October 11. The play will be performed on the Barnett Stage in the Greenhill Center of the Arts.

Tickets are $10 for the general public, $8 for seniors over 65, $5.50 for children under 18, and $4.50 for students with a valid UW-Whitewater ID. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.uww.edu, (262) 472-2222, or at the Greenhill Center Box Office from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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