Franco Laurel plays lovable Linus in Charlie Brown
is playing Linus in the theatrical adaptation of the wellloved Charles M. Schulze comic strip, Peanuts, so effectively that by curtain call, the audience wants to hug him the way the nerdy character holds close to his ever-present blanket.
On its final dates at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati City on Feb. 25 and 26, as well as on Mar. 2 and 3, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown has a compact but competent cast in Laurel, Robbie Guevarra (as Charlie), Lorenz Martinez (Snoopy), Carla Guevarra-laforteza (Lucy), Sweet Plantado-tiongson (Sally) and Tonipet Gaba (Schroeder). Though Guevarra is in the title role, the rest of the actors are given equal chance to establish and endear their respective characters to the audience, thanks to their solo spot numbers.
Laurel’s shining moment is in Linus’ solo song My Blanket And Me just before Act 1 closes. In the song, Linus professes his love for the fuzzy piece of cloth that has literally served as his security blanket and set him apart rom the rest of the company. Not only does Laurel sing it with so much gusto but he also dances “with” the blanket, suggesting that he treats it like a friend.
Linus brings in the laughs many times with his delivery of “scientific” facts. The sonorous tone, the all-too-serious expression and the use of “big” words by a “kid” are just too much sometimes that it’s a marvel how Laurel is able to keep a straight face throughout his recitations. Though Linus rarely throws the punch lines in scenes, he serves as the build-up leading to the big whammo. Linus may be a know-it-all kid but no one takes it against him because of the innocence behind the incongruousness.
A scene where Linus truly makes his mark is in the book report segment. The way each of them composed the report indicates how they think, and inadvertently what kind of person each is. Linus, but of course, dug deeper into the subject than anyone else, the way some analretentive “intellectuals” do. It’s certain that many eyes will roll heavenwards and giggle in the absurdity of it all as Linus composes a report that seems more like a dissertation paper up for defense before a panel of university professors, than one about a rabbit.
Another scene has Linus tugging at heartstrings. This is when Lucy accompanies him on a romp outdoors to teach him about the birds and bees, flowers and trees. Lucy’s knowledge about these things were dubious (and that’s an understatement!) but the, shall we say, “miseducation” Linus got from her was downright hilarious, made all the more so by the latter’s easy acceptance of whatever information was thrown at him. The scene showed the closeness between the two siblings as well as the unerring trust that Linus puts on his big sister.
You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown doesn’t have a clear-cut story. Its presentation is faithful to the comic strip that inspired it — just vignettes of everyday life for the characters and their sometimes unusual thoughts on these things. It’s about seeing the forest from the trees, with viewers joining the ride that leads to one destination or conclusion (which Lucy hits in the head in a single line): “You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.”
And so are his friends.