The Department of Theatre and Dance performance of the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” began Monday and runs through Sunday at the Allen Bales Theatre.
Written by late author Chuck Gesner, the play is based on Charles Schulz’s comic strip “Peanuts” and its characters as they explore friendships and journey through childhood adventures.
“[Gesner] took a whole bunch of vignettes that were based on the original comic strips that you’d find in the newspaper, and put them all together to tell a story about self-acceptance and children learning life lessons in order to make them stronger individuals,” said Matt Davis, the play’s director, who is also an assistant professor of theater and head of directing and stage management.
The story follows Charlie Brown, played by Dailey Dodgen, as he navigates a lack of self-confidence and discovers what being “good” means.
Davis said the audience might feel a wave of nostalgia as they see familiar characters appear on stage such as Snoopy, played by Mekelle Alisse; Sally, played by Danielle Mullenix; Lucy, played by Olivia Lee; Linus, played by Joe Solomon; and Schroeder, played by Grant Steele.
Although the musical follows a group of young kids, each character is played by a college student in the department. Davis said that playing such a younger role required some adjustment.
“Part of the exploration was just re-investing into what it is to be a kid and to experience a feeling for the first time,” Davis said.
Tickets for the musical are $15 for students, $20 for faculty/staff and senior citizens, and $22 for adults, and they can be found on the department’s website.
“I wanted to put something or add something to the season that was joyful and fun and an expression of how we can learn to treat each other better as humans,” Davis said. “I really think that the ‘Peanuts’ comic strip speaks directly to that.”
Contributing writer Taylor Victoria Dykes contributed to the reporting of this story.
