The opening performance of Snoopy the Musical at the Plaza Theatre was notable for the sparcity of the audience and the delight the talented cast of seven gave in their sparkling performances.

A possible reason for the small audience was the fact that in recent years the cartoon strip Peanuts has virtually disappeared from our daily papers and the characters are not as well known and are thought to be solely for children, this is certainly not so and the many one-liners and jokes caused many laughs and chuckles in the audience.

All the actors made an impact – Matt Sturgeon as Charlie Brown, Shaun Dodimead as the comfort blanket-hugging Linus, Soraya Scrivener as Lucy, Emma Portlock and Sally, Vicky Wilson as Peppermint Patty, Jo Short as the sprightly yellow bird Woodstock David Tatnall inthe title role.

As well as playing the lovable beagle David who was also responsible for the direction of the piece in conjunction with Shaun Dodimead.

The musical direction of Martin Paterson was obvious in the slickness and attack of the vocalists in the many catchy and complex musical items spread throughout the production ably accompanied by Nigel Finch on the second keyboard in the orchestra pit.

An important part of any musical is the choreography and this was handled with great style by Mandy Stokes and Linda Palk. whose routines fitted the style of music and characters perfectly.

The simple setting of Snoopy’s kennel and giant building bricks set the scene beautifully for the cast to appear as the all American children. The stage was sensitively lit by Martin Whitaker who also produced the projections on the giant screen which included a really fine touch – a short film of Charlie Brown playing with Snoopy as a puppy in a well- known local venue.

If you have not visited the Plaza this week thinking ‘it is not for me’ I ask you to change your mind and go along to one of the remaining three performances including a Saturday Matinee for a delightful fun filled couple of hours in the company of a group of very talented performers.

VR