by Deryn Harbin, Cypress Creek High School
Good grief! What do you do when it is your first year of high school in a brand new school and all you really want is to be in a musical, but the auditorium hasn’t even been built yet? Well, you gather up a bunch of your friends and perform Snoopy!!! in a gym-torium and make Hagerty High School’s first musical production a complete, adorable success. Snoopy!!!, a sequel to the classic musical You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, is based off the comic strip created by Charles M. Schultz. It chronicles the life of one lonely boy, his very determined dog, and everyone else in between.
Hilary Pellar gave Snoopy a female twist and captured the audience with her numerous acrobatics. Linus (Daniel Hanko) carried around his blankey and recited abnormal facts with amusing delight. Charlie Brown (Chris Buccino) was great and kept in his sad and lonely character throughout the entire play, even when things seemed to be looking up with Peppermint Patty (Jessi Ezell). Jessi captured the show with her ridiculous jokes and powerful voice. She made every musical number a thrill to watch, especially at the end of “Poor Sweet Baby” in which she made loving gestures towards Charlie and then hilariously stated that nothing would ever happen for him. Sally Brown (Alicia Suris) and Lucy (Brittany Trane) were adorable as well and kept their characterization at all times. However, the best part of all was little Woodstock (Stefana Ramsey). Her facial expressions and fluttering wings were too cute. She commanded an immediate stage presence unlike anyone else in the show.
The simple yet effective choreography and set design were perfect for the play and the cute drawings and paper grass cut-outs around the stage were a great idea. Some minor sound problems were to be expected, as a gym is not always best for musical productions. The stage was only a few feet away from the first row of the audience, so microphones may not have even been needed. It would have also been nice to see some costume changes as the Peanuts gang moved from holiday to holiday and season to season. A couple scarves and hats may have been the perfect touch. Overall, the play was surely a hit for an audience of all ages and it seems the students of Hagerty High School have great potential for the future.
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