Las Vegas Weekly

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Through 17,897 comic strips printed in more than 2,600 different newspapers over 50 years, America has grown up with Peanuts. Yet, Charlie Brown and the gang never grew up themselves. What if they had? This is the intriguing premise behind Dog Sees God, a dark off-Broadway comedy that picks up on the Peanuts’ characters during their teenage years. Charlie, called CB in the play, is depressed and pondering the afterlife after his unnamed dog (you know who) dies of rabies. Meanwhile, his pals have troubles of their own—one’s been institutionalized, another abused, a third is now a hardcore partier. Not surprisingly, Charles Schulz’s crew has not authorized the use of these characters, so Dog Sees God is advertised as a parody protected under the First Amendment. It gives birth to discussion on the tribulations facing teenagers—a relevant topic back when the play debuted in 2004 and just as pressing in 2011, when concerns over bullying have taken center stage nationwide.