presents
Snoopy !!!
THE MUSICALDirected by Keith Isaacson. Music Director: Florian Keller.
You are hearing the opening of the show recorded live at the last performance
The show ran from November 4 - 28, 1999
15 performances.Based on the comic strip 'Peanuts'
by Charles M. Schulz.
Book by Warren Lockhart, Arthur Whitelaw & Michael L. Grace. 
Music by Larry Grossman. Lyrics by Hal Hackady.
Update (November 28, after last show): unforgettable run. Enjoy the newspaper review below! The show opens with the Hot Half Dozen combo led by who else, Florian "Schroeder" Keller. The music provided by Keller, Lonna Possehl, Kris Stiefenhofer, Norman Pentelovich, Jim Streich, Paul Gavic and Chuck McGill set a jazzy, clever tone for the rest of the night. And they are right where they should be, on stage with the actors. The cast, beginning with the top dog himself, is made up of Phipps alumni. Brian Benoy, who gives the little dog with the big message an even bigger voice, plays Snoopy. Benoy has captured Snoopy's "attitude" and a chance to hear this young man sing, anything, should not be missed. Daniel C. Villnow takes on the thankless role of Charlie Brown. He has a good handle on his "inner child" as his prtrayal of this poor little guy who just can't catch a break demonstrates. And Linus's famous security blanket fit Will Ashwood to a tee. Of special note was his angst-driven performance as his beloved blanket was sent off to the wash. (It was my kids' favorite scene.) The women in the cast, as is often the case in life, took up some of the harder issues of the show-love, relationships and growing up. Lucy, played by Suzy Wagner, definitely knows it all. Lauren Herman's Sally definitely feels it all and Jen Anderson as Peppermint Patty is just plain definite and tells it to everybody. Last but not least by a long shot is the silent but always present Woodstock, flown by Ben Q. Ashwood, who loses his first love to an earlier bird but steadfastly goes on. The set, the story, the songs, are all just like the cartoon - a great escape for a little laughter, a little wisdom and a little hope, in other words, a great way to spend an evening, no matter what age or disposition.
Atop his kennel, Snoopy surveys the skies, scene of his triumph as a First World War flying ace.
Intermission
Bunnies - Snoopy
PEANUTS © United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
The score itself is the combined work of composer Larry Grossman and lyricist Hal Hackady. Many of the songs, including The Vigil, Poor Sweet Baby, and Anything Less are simply expansions of the original Schulz strips. Many of the pieces of underscoring are based on themes exposed in the musical numbers, though the ragtime Woodstock's Theme is used solely for this character. During Act I several Schulz strips are pinned together with 'orchestra punctuation' - aptly named Sparky's Revenge in the Piano Conductor Score.
Grossman and Hackady have also worked collaboratively on the musicals Minnie's Boys, and Goodtime Charley, a comedy based on Joan of Arc, including the typically 1970's songs Why can't we all be Nice and All she can do is say No.
How does a grown man portray Charlie Brown? Well - shaving your head for the part may help! The script suggests that the characters should be portrayed not at facsimiles of the Schultz comic strips, but as people of various ages appropriate to the actors (this may make the motivation behind Peppermint Patty & Lucy's immortal line 'Bleah' a little difficult to find).
A pictorial delight for adults and children alike
Snoopy is a difficult musical to produce. The fragmentary nature of the play reflects its origins as a collection of cartoon sketches. The music is very diverse as well and it takes quite an effort to learn it for singers and orchestra alike. But we welcome such challenges!
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on November 26th, 1922, Schulz was nicknamed 'Sparky' after Barney Google's horse 'Sparkplug.' His fascination with comic strips began early, reading the Sunday comics from four different newspapers with his father each week. With encouragement from his father, a barber, and his mother, Schulz enrolled in a correspondence course in cartooning at what is now the Art Instruction Schools, Inc., in Minneapolis.
His career in cartooning was interrupted in 1943 when he was drafted into the Army and he soon embarked for Europe in the fight against Germany. Upon his return, Schulz landed his first job in cartooning at Timeless Topix, a Catholic comic magazine. Soon after, he took on a second job as a teacher at Art Instruction, where he worked with Charlie Brown, Linus and Frieda, who later lent their names to the Peanuts comic strip.
Schulz' first break came in 1947 when he sold a cartoon feature called 'Li'l Folks' to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. 'Li'l Folks' ran as a weekly feature for two years. In 1948 he sold a cartoon panel to the Saturday Evening Post and would go on to sell 15 more panels between 1948-50.
In 1950, after many mailbox rejections, Schulz boarded a train from St. Paul to New York with a handful of drawings for a meeting with United Feature Syndicate. On October 2nd of that year, Peanuts, named by the syndicate, debuted in seven newspapers. When asked if he thought the strip would be a success, Schulz replied, 'Sure, I thought it would last, in fact, when I started out I thought, "I'll be drawing this for the rest of my life." '
More than 40 years later, Peanuts appears in 2,400 newspapers worldwide and Charles M. Schulz has become a household name. The strip has maintained its universal appeal throughout four distinctly different decades as it heads into its fifth. 'As a youngster, I didn't realise how many Charlie Browns there were in the world,' said Schulz. 'I thought I was the only one. Now I realise that Charlie Brown's goofs are familiar to everybody, adults and children alike.'
Unlike many cartoonists, Schulz draws every comic strip without the assistance of an art staff. More than 14,000 comic strips later, Schulz remains dedicated to Peanuts. 'Why do musicians compose symphonies and poets write poems?' asks Schulz. 'They do it because life wouldn't have any meaning for them if they didn't. That's why I draw cartoons. It's my life.' Among numerous honours, Schulz has received two Reuben Awards from the National Cartoonists Society (Outstanding Cartoonist and Best Humour Strip), and has been inducted into the Cartoonists Hall of Fame.
Working six weeks ahead on daily and Sunday strips, Schulz also writes the scripts and storyboards for the Peanuts television specials, earning five Emmy and two Peabody Awards, and is involved in all aspects of the Peanuts publishing and licensing programs through United Media in New York. His company, Creative Associates, was formed in 1970 to handle his business affairs and assist in maintaining the high quality standards associated with Peanuts.
The last line about Snoopy!!! The Musical written eloquently by a newspaper reporter:
Once in a while, along comes a show that surprises and delights. This is one of those. Even if you've never followed the Peanuts cartoon capers of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and friends - and I haven't - this musical version has much to offer.
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Some of the text material © Humdrum Amdram Theatre company
Cast, orchestra, and crew (photo © Robert Berglund)
' Snoopy ' is night of fun and good music 
By Meg Heaton, Hudson Star Observer daily newspaper
The new Phipps production, "Snoopy," has something for everybody. The characters are the cute, but not too cute, kids created by cartoonist Charles Schulz. The situations are familiar to children today and easily recalled by their parents. The music and lyrics are fun and meant to be hummed going out the door. And there are plenty of great one-liners!
Music director's unbiased note (after all, I'm a professional):
The review tells the truth! This really was the show of the year. I'm very proud of it. Gave me a warm fuzzy feeling just in time for the Christmas season. It's that incredible combination of funny one-liners, wonderful music, and my interpretation of it ;o)
And the quality of the performance (type casting, actors, orchestra, precision) was high. And many thanks to our audience!
Modestly he considers his genius. Stoically he accepts that his brilliance in
nearly every field of endeavour will forever go unremarked by humankind.
He can but uphold his own high standards ('I refuse to chase a stick that hasn't been
properly sanded and polished') and his own immutable philosophy
('In the book of life the answers are not in the back').
Songs in order:
The World According to Snoopy - Company
Snoopy's Song - Company
Edgar Allan Poe - Peppermint Patty, Lucy, Sally Brown, Linus, and Charlie Brown
The Vigil - Linus
I Know Now - Sally Brown, Peppermint Patty, and Lucy
Clouds - Company
Where Did That Little Dog Go? - Charlie Brown
Daisy Hill - Snoopy
The Great Writer - Snoopy
Poor Sweet Baby - Peppermint Patty
Don't Be Anything Less - Sally Brown, Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Charlie Brown
The Big Bow-Wow - Snoopy
Just One Person - Company
Snoopy!!! The Musical is a collaborative product based on the comic strip Peanuts, indeed most of the dialogue is lifted directly from the Charles Schulz strips.
