More Fun, Messages in ‘Charlie’

In Charles Schulz’s plaintive 1965 cartoon, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Charlie Brown bemoans the commercial sellout of the holiday, but through it all he manages to find the true meaning of Christmas.

Rick Sparks’ new musical fable for the stage, “A Charlie Brown Commercial Christmas,” presented by Greenway Arts Alliance, offers the same story and the same message but adds a new layer of meaning by contrasting the well-known Peanuts tale with that of a troubled 1969 family, gathered around their Swanson TV dinners to watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

And while it may not add a new layer of meaning, it certainly adds a new level of fun that the actors perform their own cheeky renditions of TV commercials circa 1969, from the Playtex Cross-Your-Heart Bra to the Marlboro Man.

The action swings between the tension in the family living room--the group is minus one son, who is fighting in Vietnam--and brightly colored scenes from the Peanuts cartoon.

Those are played verbatim from the original script and score, with standout performances from Travis Shakespeare as the lisping Linus, Stefane Zamarano as loud Lucy and John Cantwell as the exuberant Snoopy.

The family remains visible in the dark, watching.

In the 1965 cartoon, the tiny, wispy Christmas tree chosen by Charlie Brown for the holiday play bends under the weight of a single shiny ornament.

That image comes to mind during the show’s final scene, when director Sparks--who conceived “Commercial Christmas” in the wake of Sept. 11--lays on the “message” one layer too thick.

By the end of this bittersweet story, we know all we need to know, without those extra words of wisdom from Grandma.

*

“A Charlie Brown Commercial Christmas,” Greenway Court Theatre, 544 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A., Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 5 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 30. $12-$18. (323) 655-4402.