THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509150195
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: BY HENRY EDGAR, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
For Alice Everhart, directing a theatrical production is like cooking a big dinner.
``The biggest challenge to both is trying to make sure everything comes out together,'' she explains.
``When you're cooking a meal, you try to see that everything is ready all at the same time, that everything is hot when you put it on the table. With a show, you're trying to make sure the music, the choreography, the acting, the characterization, all of the ingredients come together at the same time so the show is ready to open on opening night.''
And she's not cooking many big dinners these days because she's too busy putting together the production of the Broadway musical hit ``Snoopy,'' which the Little Theater of Portsmouth opened Friday in the Wilson High School Theater.
``Snoopy'' is the sequel to the ``Peanuts'' musical ``You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown,'' which was a big hit for the theater troupe a few years ago and also was directed by Everhart.
``In this show, Snoopy is the main character,'' Everhart points out. ``The whole show is about how Snoopy relates to the children he deals with and how they relate to him, rather than being another show about Charlie Brown, though Charlie is in this show, too. There's a lot of singing and dancing, and `Snoopy' does have some different characters who aren't in `Charlie Brown,' such as Peppermint Patty and Woodstock. It also shows that the children occasionally get a little melancholy, but of course they quickly straighten up and decide life isn't so bad after all, that at age 6 or 7 they can survive.''
Her own personal favorite moment in the show comes when the three girls - Lucy, Patty and Sally - sing a song called ``I Know Now.''
``The girls are singing about what they know now and how different their lives would be if they had to live them over and knew earlier what they know now - even though they're only 6 or 7 and can't really know a whole lot,'' she says. ``It's a real cute little song.''
Featured in the ``Snoopy'' cast are Adam Ivey as Snoopy, Bill Abrams as Charlie Brown, Tammie Soccio as Lucy, Oralie Wilhite as Peppermint Patty, Marti Craver as Sally, Tommy Gay as Linus and Kathlyn Baker as Woodstock, with Baker doubling as the choreographer.
According to Everhart, ``Snoopy'' was a natural choice for the troupe because they like to do shows that are family oriented.
``Our audiences are much more pleased when we do shows they find funny and cute, that are not real heavy or dramatic and depressing.''
A well-known Portsmouth performer herself, she insists she doesn't miss the acting when she's directing but admits she sings along with the cast at every rehearsal.
``I miss the music,'' she says. ``I know all the words to all the songs and if you hear a voice from the back of the auditorium singing, it's me trying to control myself.''
She's acted in shows she's directed, but says she won't do it again.
``No, no, no . . . I don't have the energy anymore and, besides, you can only be in one place at a time. If you're directing and acting at the same time, there's no way you can stand back and see the whole picture. . . .''
Although she's not performing this time, don't get the idea she's not working hard. She's also designing the set, as well as helping build it and paint it, and she's making costumes. And now that ``Snoopy'' has opened, she's looking forward to concentrating on her work as president of the Portsmouth Little Theater. by CNB