In the hands of a resourceful crew aware of the material's limits and structure, it can enchant and amuse even a cynical and jaded modern audience.
Director Fran Doyle understands and is at ease with this potentially hazardous material. That she has made all the right choices is obvious from the moment the warm spotlight crashes gently onto the sparsely occupied terrain of Charlie Brown's dome.
The cast - including Aileen McCulloch (Lucy); Jody Allen (Linus); Rebecca Gallatin (Patty); Jason Stockdale (Schroeder); Dan Porto (Snoopy); and Samuel Hines (Charlie Brown) - couldn't be any more perfect if they were handpicked by Charles Schulz himself.
The pace is quick, the staging lively and appropriate, the transitions smooth, the tone vibrant, and the mood joyful. What isn't immediately apparent in this effortless flow is how finely honed the performances are, how the cast's natural exuberance has been tempered and restrained so as not to overwhelm.
Dan Porto appears to be having the time of his life playing Snoopy. Who knew the overadrenalized pooch could sing? Who knew he could dance with a supper bowl? If he's not careful, Porto could end up typecast as a dog.
With Snoopy, the one role in the show which allows - no, insists upon-flash and an unequivocal instinct for physical comedy, Porto brings the house to laughter simply by yawning, stretching, and scratching himself. Not to mention that he's involved with the two best musical numbers in the show; the inspired lunacy of the "Rabbit Chasing" sequence, and the showstopping "Supertime."
Samuel Hines' Charlie Brown is a quiet revelation, both for his performance and the discipline behind it.
Hines assumes a Jack Bennyish, understated approach, and thoughtfully evokes - accidentally or directly - the legenday comedian's technique of allowing the other actors to get the big laughs. And by so doing, he brings his character, and, indeed, the whole show to life.
Gary Puleo
The Time Herald