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 [ Thursday, Dec. 9, 2004 ] Good grief, it's a Charlie Brown X-mas
Outlaws warms hearts with a holiday tradition
For The Collegian
There might be thousands of sappily heartwarming Christmas stories to choose from, but there is something about good old Charlie Brown that never fails to get people in the holiday mood. "Charlie Brown has the Halloween movie and the Thanksgiving movie, and it all builds up to Christmas," said Heather Carino (senior-musical theatre), who is taking on the part of the lovably obnoxious Lucy for her second time. | ||||
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That is why Outlaws Theatre will be performing its annual rendition of A Charlie Brown Christmas at 11:15 tonight in the Pavilion Theater. Due to the popularity of the show and limited seating, additional performances are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday. "It's a tradition and everyone loves it," director and Outlaws producer Patty Grabb (senior-stage management) said. "I've seen it over and over and I still laugh." Though there are slight variations in the production from year to year due to location changes, the key to the humor is that the actors follow the movie as closely as possible. | ||||
PHOTO: Meghan White
'A Charlie Brown Christmas' was first done by Outlaws in 1994. The show has become so popular that two extra showings will be available this year.
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"It's all in repetition ... we watch the cartoon over and over again," said Sean Bradley (senior-theatre), an Outlaws producer who will be playing the thumb-sucking, blanket-worshipping Linus for his second year. "We try to stick movement to movement, as faithful as we possibly can." "You've got to get the movements -- every facial expression, every blink -- so that they feel they really are these characters," Grabb said. "We're acting like 10 year olds. The actors are putting themselves out there, making ridiculous fools of themselves to be their characters -- it's a great experience to watch on stage." While the traditional Thursday night Outlaws performance is rehearsed for four days, actors for A Charlie Brown Christmas were given about two weeks of practice, and production planning began a month ago. "This is probably the biggest part of my life," this year's Charlie Brown, Dave Alfano (senior-English and theatre), said. Outlaws first began the tradition in 1994, though several years have been skipped in to try other classics, such as Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. But both the audience and the participants wanted Charlie Brown back. |
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PHOTO: Meghan White/Collegian
Cast members reenact the play scene for scene so that the production looks like the original.
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"Charlie Brown translates best into human life," Alfano said. "The cartoons are actually people, and everyone our age can relate to Charlie Brown." On the surface, A Charlie Brown Christmas may seem like a simple movie for the youngsters, but the classic image of Charlie's pathetic little Christmas tree sends a message about the holiday season that any age can learn from. "Christmas isn't about commercialism or how perfectly we perform this play," Grabb said. "It's about giving, it's about not being selfish and it's about friendship." To mirror the giving attitude, Outlaws asks that audience members bring a can of food to donate for their otherwise free admission. "There is something bigger than petty arguments," Grabb said, "and it's something that we should try to do all year round, and not just at Christmas." 
PHOTO: Meghan White
The cast rehearses for the Outlaws production of 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'. The play will be performed at the Pavilion Theater on December 9th and 11th.
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