“Dog Sees God, Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead,” Play by Bert V. Royal, Studio Theatre, 14th & P Streets NW, Washington, D.C., thru Aug. 6.

I saw this play in New York last fall and reviewed it in the News-Press then. It is a powerful but woefully misunderstood creation. Most critics simply can’t negotiate the shift in gears that the play deliberately undergoes. They are so intent to classify it as one thing or another that they fail to see it being transformed from one thing, a comedic spoof based on characters from the original Peanuts comic strip, into something entirely different, a dead serious and dark commentary on the consequences of unabated bullying and taunting in high school. Come prepared to be entertained, but also to be confronted by this production. No matter how well, or not, the local troupe pulls it off, the play itself is downright brilliant. Tickets from www.studiotheatre.org.