Friday night, I got the night off from Zanna Don't rehearsal so that we as a cast could go to Bruka theater's latest showcase – the dark comedy “Dog Sees God”. A few members of the Zanna cast were in the production so I was happy and excited to be able to go and support them in this show. The script, written by Bert V. Royal, is a twisted parody of the beloved children's comic strip Peanuts. However Royal never received permission from Schultz for the right to use names and such from Peanuts. In response, Royal cleverly altered names and traits of the various characters. You have Tricia, a throwback to Peppermint Patty, who is a dumb, slightly alcoholic, mean girl or Van, who has discarded his precious blanket for the comforts of marijuana, or Van's sister – everyone's aggressive go-getter – who has landed herself in prison for lighting someone's hair on fire. The complexities and arduous trials and tribulations of life have warped these characters. In other words … high school happened.

The story opens with everyone's beloved beagle dead from a bad case of rabies and C.B, everyone's straight-edged conventional character, contemplating life without his faithful dog. The seemingly innocuous event of the beagle's death has brought a dark cloud of depression, confusion, and anger to the world of Peanuts. Though at one point all friends, the group has broken apart and are pursuing their own life and interests. Here is the teaser description found on Bruka's website:

“Brüka Theatre proudly presents DOG SEES GOD: CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BLOCKHEAD. Meet the characters from the Peanuts comic strip, ten years later. Writer Bert V. Royal re-imagines the ingenious characters that contradict their younger comic-strip selves and places them in a world full of controversy. Violence, sexual identity, drugs, and even suicide; Dog Sees God will take both teen and adult audience members to a world that they know all too well, and asks the question: Is there afterlife after high school?”

In all honesty, this is one of the funniest & darkest plays that I have scene in a long while. The campy one-liners and crude offensive comments sent the entire audience into hysterics and the emotionally poignant scenes brought a hushed silence over the crowd and more than one person could be heard sniffling – trying to fight back the tears – as the lives – and deaths – of these familiar characters played out before them. I totally sobbed like a baby, which is not really a shocker to anyone who knows me. Most of the time when I see plays, I sit through the production and think how it would have been infinitely better if it were a musical. I had no such inclination during this production and as an audience member was completely satisfied with the whole show. The show deals with a number of emotionally charged and heavy issues including drugs, alcohol, homophobia, teen sex, death, and suicide so it is definitely not a show for the faint of heart. However the show ends on a slightly uplifting note that leaves audiences with some small shred of hope of the life we lead after high school.

The show runs the entire month of July on the Bruka's mainstage. Tickets are $16 for students and seniors, $18 in advance, and $20 at the door. It is well worth the price of admission and I am probably going to see this show a second time. This show might bring up some sensitive memories for attendees but ultimately shows us all the power and impact of how a simple gesture of kindness can alter the course of events in a person's life. It is definitely not a show to miss!