Craig Gaul, Adrick Woodruff, and Adrienne Evans in "Dog Sees God" at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre -- June 3 through 12. (photo by Warped Images)
Friday, June 3, through Sunday, June 12
Playcrafters Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL
With Broadway World describing the dark comedy as "a wicked satire that is so much more than just a tearing-down of cultural icons," author Bert V. Royal's Dog Sees God enjoys a June 3 through 12 run at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, this Barn Owl Series presentation having inspired The Toronto Star to rave, "What seems to be a comedic deconstruction of the famous Peanuts cartoon characters turns out to be one of the most interesting and moving plays I've seen this year."
A comedic, and determinedly adult, coming-of-age tale surrounding a cast of familiar Charles M. Schulz characters, Dog Sees God finds the Peanuts gang in high school, and following the death of his beloved beagle, protagonist C.B having to tackle some seriously grown-up topics. As a now-popular jock who's also something of a bully, C.B. finds himself drawn to a lonely piano-playing outsider named Beethoven, and while living their lives as "typical" teenagers, the high schoolers are each forced to grapple with issues of homophobia, mental health, death and the afterlife, alcoholism, identity crises, and the inevitability of growing apart from the people you loved most. With Royal's script praised as a poignant, funny, gut-punching, and uniquely-crafted work, Dog Sees God was one of the breakout hits upon its debut at the New York International Fringe Festival, winning the Excellence Award for Best Overall Production and Theatermania's Play Award of 2004.
Directing Dog Sees God for Playcrafters' Barn Owl Series, and working for the venue for the first time, is Jay Megan Sushka, whose Charlie Brown stand-in C.B. is portrayed by Craig Gaul, an actor also making his Moline-theatre debut. Other iconic Peanuts figures, and versions thereof, are played by local stage veterans: Adrick Woodruff (Quad City Music Guild's Jesus Christ Superstar) as Beethoven; Adrienne Evans (the Black Box Theatre's Veronica's Room) as C.B.'s sister; Mike Turczynski (Playcrafters' Stupid F---ing Bird) as Van; Lily Blouin (the Spotlight Theatre's The Sound of Music) and Cayla Odendahl (Davenport Junior Theatre's Alice in Wonderland) alternately cast as Van's sister; Lauren Moody (the Prenzie Players' Doctor Faustus) as Marcy; and Emilia Hughes (Playcrafters' She Kills Monsters) as Tricia.
And with Turczynski also serving as the production's lighting designer, additional members of the Dog Sees God creative team include stage manager Milo Houdyshell; producer Jaclyn Marta; set builder Randy Moore; sound designer Eric Teeter; board operators Leah Manning and Nathan Lundberg; and poster designer Katie Newport.
Dog Sees God runs at the Moline theatre June 3 through 12, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is $10-12, the show is recommended for ages 17 and older, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.
