Correction appended

"When my dog died, that was when the rain cloud came back and everything went to hell." Good grief. Not the most uplifting opening to a spoof on Charles Schulz's beloved Peanuts characters, but so starts the chain of events that make up Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.

The play, which was performed by the Brandeis Theater Company last weekend, is not the heartwarming and silly cartoon we all know and love from childhood.

But, true to the je ne sais quoi that keeps my mother watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown year after year, there is something nostalgic and wonderful about meeting the Peanuts gang again as teenagers. This is the genius move on the part of Bert V. Royal, the playwright behind this unauthorized parody of the classic comic strip.

The names of the characters have all been changed or abbreviated or purposely omitted so that the show does not infringe upon any copyright rules. Still, various allusions clarify who is meant to be whom. The play is propelled by a series of titled dialogues that touch upon topics such as homosexuality, teen suicide, underage drinking, sex and changing relationships. Each line is deliberate and addresses the important issues without sounding preachy. Every character has his or her own voice, opinions and desires, which BTC's cast truly understood and internalized. Whether playing the merely confused bigot or the jocular mental patient or the stoic, hesitant homosexual whose childhood friends won't leave him alone, each actor in Dog Sees God just got it right.

CB, played with the right mixture of innocence and humility by Dan Katz '12, is left with a myriad of questions after the passing of his pet dog (implied to be Snoopy). Where do we go after we die? Is there a place in heaven for animals? His dog, after contracting rabies, killed a yellow bird (Woodstock) with which he often had played. Will God punish the dog for his crime? CB's friends don't know the answers. In fact, they are too self-absorbed with partying, bullying others and abusing drugs to even attend the makeshift funeral CB holds for his dog in his backyard. Katz was rightfully cast as the lead of the show for his dramatic range as well as his everyman interpretation of Charlie Brown.

Stephen Badras '13 garnered many laughs with his portrayal of the Linus character, Van, a pothead who relates to CB's loss through the loss of his distinctive blanket, which CB and Van's sister (the unnamed Lucy character) are said to have burned. Badras' Van was easygoing and natural, perfectly capturing the dreamer who, in his childhood, insisted upon the existence of the aforementioned Great Pumpkin, a Santa Claus-like figure who came to visit children on Halloween.

Matt, the now-germaphobic adolescent version of Pig-Pen, was a character who had several layers. On the outside, there was the sexually charged, immature jock who picked on other kids at school. Underneath that was the young man who wanted to forget about his childhood nickname emphasizing his lack of hygiene. And inside, there was a boy who cared deeply about his best friend, CB, possibly to the point of having romantic feelings for him. Robert St. Laurence '11, who played the part, impressively revealed each trait at exactly the right moments, creating a realistic and complex character.

Another noteworthy performance came from Rebecca Miller '13, who, although she was only in one scene, was extremely memorable. Miller, who played Van's pyromaniac sister, did a great job of portraying the crazy and the sweet sides of her character, reflecting the ever-changing nature of Schulz's feisty Lucy. Miller's portrayal added a lighthearted quality to an unfortunate situation, and her interactions with CB contained a delicate blend of compassion and sarcasm.

BTC's lighting and set choices complemented the comic strip feel of the play. The scene titles were projected in the characteristic Peanuts font on a sliding glass door overlooked Snoopy's red doghouse and a green grassless hill. Properties moved onstage and offstage seamlessly, and each conversation started with interest and ended with a sense of finality, which kept the pace moving quickly.

Overall, Dog Sees God is satisfying for those who recognize the quirky dance moves of Charlie Brown and friends as well as for those merely interested in theater that discusses modern teen issues. The play makes clear that we all have to grow up sometime but that it's important to remember the things and people you loved when you were just a blockhead of a kid.

Correction: The article originally misspelled the name of a cast member. Matt was played by Robert St. Laurence, not Robert St. Lawrence.