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‘Good grief!’ — QC play reimagines ‘Peanuts’ characters as teenagers

The dark comedy "Dog Sees God" opens at Playcrafters in Moline June 3.

Playcrafters Barn Theatre will present the dark comedy  “Dog Sees God” by Bert V. Royal, which will feature all local talent and run June 3-5 and 10-12 at the Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Ave., Moline.

This production is rated R and contains the following material that may be triggering for some audience members: substance abuse, mental illness, homophobia, eating disorders, suicide, and childhood trauma.

Dog Sees God” at Playcrafters features (L-R) Craig Gaul, Adrick Woodruff, and Adrienne Evans.

“Dog Sees God” (2004) reimagines the characters from “Peanuts,” chronicling CB, the now-popular high school jock, and his search for life’s answers after the violent death of his beloved beagle.

Unsatisfied by the responses from his newly Wiccan sister, or his party-loving gang, CB finds unexpected comfort in the piano prodigy loner, according to a synopsis. This hilarious R-rated interpretation of a beloved childhood character sends the audience on a journey of profound self-discovery, and how we ultimately find our true selves through grief. 

“Dog Sees God” touches on the darker subjects teenagers face, such as substance abuse, mental illness, homophobia, eating disorders, suicide, and childhood trauma. The Playcrafters director, Jay Megan-Sushka, describes the production as “the kind of comedy that gets the audience laughing and then hits them in the heart in the very next breath.”

Playcrafters’ production of “Dog Sees God,” is truly a “one-of-a-kind” performance, since the author recently revised his original 2004 script, and Playcrafters is one of the first to perform the updated version.

The new production of “Dog Sees God” features Adrienne Evans and Craig Gaul.

Besides that, the cast and crew have pushed beyond the text’s original sexual orientation and discovery themes by casting a non-binary actor as a romantic leading character, we challenge the audience’s ideas of gender and the spectrum of sexual identity, the Playcrafters release says.

“Our director, Jay Megan Sushka, personally spoke to Mr. Royal, who gave us permission to change some pronouns in the script, and this subtle change is an impactful one,” the release says. “Jay believes strongly in open gendered casting and visibility on the stage, and ‘Dog Sees God’ features an almost entirely queer-identifying cast and crew, that has brought light to the LGBTQ+ representation in the community.”

The cast features Emilia Hughes, Lauren Moody, Cayla Odendahl, Adrick Woodruff, Davenport; Adrienne Evans, East Moline; Drew DeKeyrel, Orion; Mike Turczynski, Rock Island; and Craig Gaul, Bettendorf.

Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and a 3 p.m. matinee on Sundays. Doors open one hour prior to the show. Tickets ($12, $10 for military and seniors) are available by calling 309-762-0330 or at the theater website.