NMS Drama Club Brings ‘Snoopy!!!’ Alive

By Tanjua Damon

Lucy (Kelsey Cantore) tried to help Charlie Brown (Alex Hennessey) figure out what matters to him in life, asking about his philosophy of life. He replied, “Life is like an ice cream cone, you have to learn to lick it.”

Energy and enthusiasm filled the Newtown Middle School auditorium stage over the weekend as Charles Schulz’s Peanuts characters came to life in Snoopy!!! The drama club performed three shows for the public under the direction of Newtown Middle School teachers Susan Lang and Valerie Leone.

The comic strip-style show brought the audience to laughter as the cast delivered puns and jokes throughout the hour and a half performance. The set depicted two scenes: outside with Snoopy’s doghouse and inside of the famous classroom. Its vibrant colors added to the flavor of the energy displayed on stage.

The cast sang songs including “The World According to Snoopy,” “Snoopy’s Song,” “Edgar Allen Poe,” “I Know Now,” “Vigil,” “Clouds,” “Where did that Little Dog Go?,” “Daisy Hill,” “Bunnies,” “The Great Writer,” “Poor Sweet Baby,” “Don’t Be Anything Less Than Everything You Can Be,” “The Big Bow-Wow,” and “Just One Person.”

Cast members in the musical included Patrick Dunseith as Linus, Sydney Russell as Sally Brown, Claire Ober as Peppermint Patty, Briana Berg as Snoopy, and Tiffany Studer as Woodstock.

Ensemble members were Chuck Brooks, Jackie Buda, Derek Calderara, Peter Copeland, Lindsey Greene, Vanessa Hansen, Alex Hart, Tamarra Kemsley, Jacqui Kirol, Kelly McPhee, Ben Neff, Stephanie Paproski, Sarah Parker, Scott Perry, Nick Petrovich, Sara Regensburger, Stewart Tabler, Sarah Truitt, and Cathy Urfer.

Crew members were Michael Bergeron, Ashley Bolmer, Kevin Davies, Siobhan Dummigan, Kaitlin Eckert, Sarah Edwards, Addy Fulmer, Garrett Hydeck, Tyler Lones, Erik Randlov, Conor Sherman, Lidia Silva, Chynna Smith, Ryan Tanner, Taylor Walker, and Steven Yacko.

Stage mangers were Nathaniel Basch-Gould and Tricia Reed. Polka professor was Assistant Principal Virginia King. Snoopy’s dance was choreographed by Karen Beierle.

The production was in cooperation with Tams-Witmark Music Library.