It was quite an experience

Last night I took my kids to see "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" at West Jordan High School. It's one of the kids favorite shows, and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to let them see it again. Besides, our tickets were free because I had loaned set pieces to Kelly.

Everything started out so well...

They used the lemonade stand as a ticket booth, which I thought was really clever. The cast photos were adorable. They had live music, which I think is always preferable, and it was Kelly at the piano which means it was excellent (except for that one page turn). The set was gorgeous, pulled straight out of the comic strip, and I was so jealous imagining what we could have done with a set like that.

Then Charlie Brown came on.

I was awash with emotion watching this poor round-headed kid murder the role. (Not what you were expecting me to say, is it!) He couldn't act at all, not even Keanu Reeves style, and I kept thinking about Joel. Joel...who only had a pretend kite (this kid had a real one) and yet was more believable than last nights poor imitation. The other characters weren't as bad. But when the show is called "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" having a not so stellar Charlie Brown really hurts. I now understand why Cory was so hesitant to go forward until we had a Charlie, and I'm even more grateful that Joel was willing to step in and perform.

Lucy and Sally were darling, little girls.

But, and this is a big but, they weren't my Lucy and Sally. If I take them one at a time, starting with Sally, I'll admite freely and easily that she was good. She had the younger sister whiney thing down. I remember when we started rehearsals and Kate was worried that Sally would end up sounding just like Lucy, and so she worked out a different sort of character, a character that would distinguish herself from the other female lead. And it worked. Well, a young, mostly inexperienced actress wouldn't recognize that she was pretty much just like the other character. The biggest differences, besides one was in blue, and the other in pink, came because the director, who happened to be Kelly, stole many things about Kate's performance and gave them to his Sally. "Gatorade! Is it in you?"

Lucy was also good. But everything can be summed up in one quick statement: She wasn't Cat. She spoke her lines well. Her physicality was delightful. She even had character quirks, which you don't find in younger performer very often. Her face was expressive. I was ready to believe. Then...the singing happened. She sings really well and they were lucky to have her, but there is just no way to compete. And though I acknowledge this is in no way a competition, in my heart no one will ever be Lucy but Cat. One last note: I was amazed at how much of Cat's performance I did see in this young lady who never saw our show. I wonder if Kelly had anything to do with that. *duh*

Schroeder is one of my voice students.

He sang really well, and I'm not the least bit prejudice about that. And to his credit, he did act. The entire show he was never once out of character. He made a character choice and he stuck to it. Too bad he was flaming. That's all I have to say about that.

A note about some brilliant direction. Other than stealing bits from an excellent and remorable production, which to me only seems smart, there was one moment that really stands out. Even this morning, nearly 12 hours later, I'm still laughing when I think about it. "Beethoven Day" was beautifully sung (see above), but when Linus put his blanket on a pole, and started waving it back and forth behind the cast, the backlight went red, and everyone did a strange lopsided march, I started truly laughing for the first time that night. It was fabulous! And it wasn't a straight line...

Linus was about the same age as our Linus.

When we lost so many of our cast members before rehearsals had even begun, I would never have dared to imagine that we would end up with performers so talented. Sam, however, was a wild card right from the start. He was an unproven commodity. And he was so much younger than everyone else. But there was this learning curve. Call it a "Sam Curve" if you like, I know Kate does. The result was that Sam was brilliant! I can still see the start of "The Glee Club" when Cat has Sam from one side, and Kate has Sam from the other, and the poor kid is nearly leveled trying to keep himself upright in the face of these two very strong-willed, and much shorter than him girls. In retrospect, I think working with so many outstanding performers makes you raise your own game. Last nights poor Linus didn't have that opportunity. And it showed.

Snoopy had a receding hairline.

Seriously. The poor kid is in high school and had a receding hairline. Still, he was by far the best actor in the bunch, the songs just weren't his range at all. He would have made a great Charlie Brown, or even Schroeder, whose songs are written for Bari/Tenor. Snoopy is a high tenor, and he wasn't. But, every kid can't grow up to be Nick. How did we get Nick? Oh yeah. Our director brought him over from the actors program at the U of U. He was amazing. He could sing, he tried to dance (hard enough that it showed), he could really act. Snoopy can make or break the show, and our Snoopy made it.

In the end, my kids enjoyed themselves.

I suppose that's what matters. They aren't critical enough yet to feel about the show the same way I do. And for that, I'm grateful. One of these days they are going to grow out of the childlike innocence that lets them enjoy mediocre performances. Or maybe not. After all, I still enjoyed myself as well. There were enough well acted, well blocked, well sung moments for me to feel like it was worth my time. It just wasn't our show. And the truth is, sometimes when you bring together a bunch of unknown elements, throw in some unusual casting choices, and a fabulous music director, mix well with amazing acting and stellar singing, and top it off with some straight lines, you get magic.

Besides...millions of little kids do it every day!