Rabid Marmot mounts Peanuts parody

Few people are eager to return to the their angst-filled teenage years loaded with hierarchies, rivalries and rollercoaster hormones.

Instead we get a glimpse of that world in the Edmonton premiere of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead playing May 17 to 27 at the TransAlta Arts Barn.

What promises to make this particular Rabid Marmot production so compelling is that the play is an unauthorized parody of the popular comic strip Peanuts.

American playwright Bert V. Royal has re-imagined the characters no longer as cute little people learning about life and each other. His paintbrush creates tormented creatures plagued by drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion and sexual identity.

“It’s a very black comedy. It’s very funny and that’s a draw for me. It has a cocktail of emotions and it’s very relevant. It deals with problems head-on and it’s about people not taking the time to listen and look. That speaks to me of the power we wield without knowing it,” says St. Albert actor David Johnston, in the lead role of C.B.

Either through artistic license or to avoid trademark infringement, Royal changed the names from the comic strip characters. Charlie Brown, saddened by the loss of Snoopy’s death, is now C.B.

Not only are the names changed, but also the personalities have done a 180-degree flip. C.B.’s sister (Sally) has gone Goth. Van (Linus), once a childhood philosopher is now a pothead, and Matt (Pig-Pen) has morphed into a germophobe.

Beethoven, (Schroeder), becomes the school outcast after people learn his father sexually abused him. Tricia (Peppermint Patty) and her sidekick Marcy (Marcie) are now popular party girls, and Van’s sister (Lucy) was put in a psychiatric hospital for lighting the Little Red-Haired Girl’s hair on fire.

On the surface it sounds like a demolition derby of the Peanuts characters. But St. Albert actress Arielle Ballance, in the role of Marcy, explains there is more than meets the eye.

“Yes, it’s very dark. But it’s really funny, too. It deals with serious issues. It doesn’t make light of them. Although it goes into dark places, it’s written in a light-hearted way and it’s the journey that’s of interest.”

Her character, Marcy, is a modern template for many smart junior and high school girls who dumb themselves down to be popular. In her skate through life, Marcy has traded her true identity for a shaky status.

“She wants to be cool like everyone else. But most of the play she’s making fun of other girls. Most of the play she trash-talks the other girls and she’s homophobic. She’s turned into a monster.”

Johnston reminds us that everyone is desperate to find his or her niche.

“It’s about who we are and how we fit in.”