Arts & Entertainment

Good Grief! Acton Actors Taking the Show to Scotland

Theater With a Twist travels over the pond to perform 'Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.'

Mary Spinosa-Wilson says it's a labor of love.

She and six others from the non-profit, Acton-based Theater With a Twist are digging into their own pockets to pay their way to the Edenborough Festival Fringe in Scotland for a four-day presentation of "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead."

"Dog" is a story about Charles Schulz's Peanuts Gang, only they are a little older.

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"They get into all sorts of trouble growing up," says Theater's Mary Spinosa-Wilson. "They are teenage high school kids trying to figure out who they are and discovering themselves."

Everything from the alcoholism to gay and lesbian discussions to bullying is explored through the characters.

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But Schulz, who died in 2000, never supported the show, so the characters' names are changed. 

"It’s not condoned by him in any way," she says, adding it's not a show for viewers younger than 16 years old. "But I think it’s a great show because it explores these characters as teenagers. I personally would love to see a writer write a show as they develop into adults."

The characters are: 

  • CB (Charlie Brown) is the main character in the play. He is intensely saddened over the death of his dog, and is forced to question both his sexuality, and his social status when he unwittingly falls for his classmate Beethoven.
  • CB's sister (Sally) has gone goth, at least for a portion of the play. It is mentioned that, like her character basis, she changes her philosophy on life often. Her other personas during the course of the play are scripted as thug (called "gansta-bitch" in the script), and hippie.
  • Van (Linus), always the philosopher in childhood, is now a pothead with a worldview to match. He repeatedly attempts to pursue a sexual relationship with CB's Sister.
  • Matt (Pig-Pen) is a pathological germaphobe whose dirtiness has been internalized - he's sex-obsessed and homophobic, and terrorizes Beethoven mercilessly. He is also a football player, and is CB's best friend.
  • Beethoven (Schroeder) became the school outcast prior to events in the play when it was revealed that he was sexually abused by his father. A bit of a recluse, Beethoven takes solace in playing the piano, but when he and CB become romantically involved, his world is turned upside down.
  • Tricia (Peppermint Patty), a party girl, who professes herself to be "Pretty" and "Popular". Though never spoken outright in the play, the general consensus is that her last name is York.
  • Marcy (Marcie), a party girl and Tricia's sidekick. She has a tryst with Tricia and Matt during the play.

Six actors, ranging in age from 20 to the 50s, and one stage crew member, are making the trek to The Outhouse, a bar in Edinburgh, Scotland that will host the shows. 

"We performed this show in Cambridge in June as a precursor," Spinosa-Wilson says. "It was awesome, everyone did a great job. But it’s turned out to be a different show in Europe. There are no stage lights. We'll use music to transition from scene to scene. It's morphed into different show."

This isn't the first show based on the Peanuts Gang for this cast. They have also performed "You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy! The Musical. 

"And now this," she says. "We’re kind of following the Peanuts as they progress. It's invigorating."

Spinosa-Wilson says she will ask the cast to perform the show again when they return home.

"I'm hoping to do it one more time here for the community," she says. "Here, it will be very laid back, more of a coffee-house attitude."

The shows in Scotland will run from Aug. 7-10 at 11 p.m.


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