Dog Sees God, which re-imagines the characters of Charles Schulz’ Peanuts as teenagers based on the dispositions of their childhood incarnations, is part comedy, part meditation on the end of innocence.

Faithfully following the comic’s main characters to their logical adolescent conclusions, writer Bert V. Royal and director Lezlie Wade bring us the earnest and lovable CB (Charlie Brown), searching for meaning after the death of his beloved beagle; Stiffleresque school bully Matt (Pigpen); and stoner Van (Linus) who has replaced his blanket with a pot habit.

The cast, all stars of Degrassi: The Next Generation, play their teenage roles as well as you would hope. Alex Saslove and Siobhan Murphy do a particularly convincing job of capturing bitchy codependent best friends Marcy and Trisha (Peppermint Patty), who mix White Russians in their lunchtime milk cartons. The first half hour, as we discover what time has done to those tiny cartoon friends, contains some of the play’s best dialogue and all of its comedy. Lindsey Clark, understudy for Paula Brancati, is both funny and terrifying in the role of Van’s sister (Lucy), whose pyromaniacal tendencies have landed her in an asylum.

Unfortunately, the comedy can only take us so far and once the story begins to unfold in earnest it all becomes slightly after-school special-ish. What the message is, though, isn’t entirely clear. CB falls unexpectedly in love with Beethoven, his former best friend who has gone from grumbling at Sally Brown for dancing on his piano to hiding in the music room at lunch to avoid Matt and Van. Matt’s discomfort with this development leads to a scene that is superbly acted and affecting, yet disappointingly predictable.

The play concludes by paying fitting homage to the comic’s creator, the execution of which overdoes the schmaltz slightly. Still, it manages to convey the depth of affection so many feel for Schulz's work, and for the characters he created.