You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Revised) Program
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Revised)
Based on the Comic Strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Clark Gesner
Additional Dialogue by Michael Mayer
Additional Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Directed by Mandy Fox
Music Direction by Theo Jackson
April 9 – 17
Proscenium Theatre
The performance runs two hours including a 15-minute intermission.
Setting
An average day in the life of Charlie Brown.
Cast
Charlie Brown
Lukas Cinto
Lucy
Ashley Gildenblatt
Sally
Reese Looser
Linus
Cale Bishop
Schroeder
Troy Malone
Snoopy
Caleb Triplett
Understudy for Lucy and Sally
Savanna Lenze
Understudy for Charlie and Linus
Grey Lynsky
Understudy for Schroeder and Snoopy
Zach Ahrens
Original direction for this version of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown by Michael Mayer.
Originally produced in New York by Arthur Whitelaw and Gene Persson.
Your a Good Man, Charlie Brown is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.com.
The use of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is strictly prohibited. Please silence your cell phones and pagers prior to the beginning of the performance. In consideration of those seated around you, please refrain from texting during the performance.
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)'s rights and actionable under United States copyright law. For more information, please visit: https://concordtheatricals.com/resources/protecting-artists.
Department Chair
E.J. Westlake
Artistic Director
Mandy Fox
Producer and Production Manager
Sherée Greco
Director
Mandy Fox
Music Director
Theo Jackson
Choreographer
David Catire-Thill
Scenic Designer and Properties Designer
Kaitlyn Crosby
Costume Designer
Alexis Miller
Lighting Designer
Robbie Wilt
Sound Designer
Matthew Fisher
Production Technical Director
Chris Zinkon
Production Stage Manager
Persis Yoder
Dramaturg
M. Nance
Assistant Directors
Billy DeVito and Sophie O'Leary
Assistant Lighting Designer
Colin Barberic
Assistant Stage Managers
Darrian Ippolito and Alexa VanHorne
Production Electrician
Audra Franke
External Relations and Publicity Coordinator
J. Briggs Cormier
Ticketing Services and Audience Services Specialist
Julia Buttermore
Business Operations Manager
Dev Singer
Graphic Design
Biaggio Bican
Band
Drums
Nick Carver
Bass
Brent Small
Keys
Pam Villareal
Woodwind
Josh Harkins
Violin
??
Staff Technical Director
Chris Zinkon
Scenic Studio Manager
Chad R. Mahan
Scenic Studio Teaching Associates
Kaitlyn Crosby, Jack MacGregor, Megan Wells
Scenery Construction Crew
Ben Ault, John Baniak, Ella Barberic, Sally Dempsey, Grace Dicus, Morgan Eisenbraun, Sisi Fan, Matthew Fisher, Matt Henry, Kara Hill, Camryn Jagodzinski, Sabrina Li, Loki, Liu, Chaz Mankin, Sarvesh Perumal, Jack Rineer, Othman Shuri, Adrianna Tenney, Kamryn Wechter, Gabe Willenberg, Joey Young
Scenic Run Crew
Sam Hicks-Jirkans, Luke Kleeman, Claire Pennington, Nathan Ruppert, Jason Tang
Automation Operator
Rory Fabec
Costume Studio Manager
Coco Mayer
Costume Studio Teaching Associate
Alexis Miller, Jeremy D Quick
Costume Construction Crew
Ella Barberic, Cale Bishop, Aurora Buchau, Shay Cecil-Lott, Max Cerny, Keshabi Dhimal, Hannah Ding, Miriam Frank, Maddie Green, Chloe Krensky, Molly Lenko, Grey Lynsky, Othman Shuri, Corinne Stevens, Dionysia Thompson, Mateo Zevallos
Wardrobe Crew
Maverick Armstrong, Greg Goldberg, Sophie O'Leary, Tristan Weathers
Lighting Studio Manager
Eric M. Slezak
Lighting Studio Teaching Associates
Sarah Herkert, Evan Lane, Robbie Wilt
Lighting Crew
Amabelle Chan, Conan Chan, Ethan Collins, Sally Dempsey, Sisi Fan, Miriam Frank, Sam Hicks-Jirkans, Cayli Lee, Ruth Luketic, Leticia Wang
Light Board Operator
Hanna Ashmore
Follow Spot Operators
Conan Chan, Maddie Green
Sound and Media Studio Manager
Keya Myers-Alkire
Sound Crew
Craig Foulkrod, Grace French, Loki Liu, Ruth Luketic, Ari Vezdos
Sound Board Operator
Hyoyeong Choi
Microphone Technician
Christopher Wright
Media Teaching Associate
Rufus ZaeJoDaeus
Student Ticket Seller Supervisor
Brenda Ramos Perez
Box Office Staff
Rida Alamoudi, Yareni Velazquez Garcia, Grace Lamparyk, Kendall McNutt, Brenda Ramos Perez
House Managers
Shavonna Simpson
Colin Barberic (asst. lighting designer), junior
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Medina, OH
Major(s): philosophy, politics and economics; theatre
Department Productions: After the Blast; Silent Sky
Cale Bishop (Linus), 1st year student
Hometown: Massillon, OH
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Debut
David Catire-Thill (choreographer), graduate student
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Arlington Heights, IL
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: 1st department production
Lucas Cinto (Charlie Brown), junior
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Akron, OH
Major(s): business administration
Minor(s): theatre
Department Productions: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Billy DeVito (asst. director), graduate student
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Wantagh, NY
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: 1st department production
Matthew Fisher (sound designer; live mix operator), senior
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Amherst, OH
Major(s): engineering physics - aerospace engineering
Minor(s): robotics and autonomous systems; theatre
Department Productions: After the Blast
Audra Franke (production electrician), senior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Toledo, OH
Major(s): hospitality management
Minor(s): entertainment and design technology
Department Productions: 1st department production
Ashley Gildenblatt (Lucy), sophomore
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Major(s): hospitality management; theatre
Department Productions: Orlando
Darrian Ippolito (asst. stage manager), junior
Hometown: Taylorville, IL
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): American sign language; voice acting
Department Productions: Orlando; The Squirrels
Savanna Lenze (Sally/Lucy understudy), senior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Major(s): music; theatre
Minor(s): education
Department productions: She Kills Monsters
Reese Looser (Sally Brown), junior
Hometown: Toledo, OH
Major(s): strategic communication
Minor(s): voice acting
Department Productions: Debut
Sophie O'Leary (asst. director), junior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Major(s): music; theatre
Department Productions: The Squirrels; The Dog Project; The Moors; The 24th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Aspen Totonchi (asst. costume designer), senior
Pronouns: they/them
Hometown: Solon, OH
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Blood Wedding
Alexa VanHorne (asst. stage manager), 1st year student
Hometown: Centerburg, OH
Major(s): exploration
Minor(s): leadership
Department Productions: 1st department production
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is based on the classic Peanuts comic strip series that was first published on October 2, 1950. It was created by Charles M. Schulz, who continued to be the series’ sole illustrator throughout its fifty-year, multi-national run until Schulz’s death on February 12, 2000. The last comic strip, originally meant to announce Schulz’s retirement, was published the next day. Originally titled Li’l Folks, Schulz was forced to change the title of the series due to copyright concerns, and the unwanted title Peanuts remained his greatest regret about his creation. The comic strips focus on the social lives of children in a setting in which adults are rarely seen, and yet, the subtle anxieties and vulnerabilities hidden beneath the humor of the comics speak to an element of the human condition that people all over the world and across generations can relate to.
Since its creation, Peanuts has inspired a variety of merchandise (several examples you can find displayed in the lobby) and adaptations, like You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The production was initially anticipated as a concept album. The composer and actor, Clark Gesner, read the comics and was inspired to create a series of songs based on his favorite characters. He wrote to Schulz in 1966, asking for permission to make a record of largely unconnected songs based on the characters of Charlie Brown, Lucy Van Pelt, Linus Van Pelt, and Snoopy. Once permission from Schulz was acquired, Gesner began to translate his concept album for the stage.
With the production set to premiere in 1967, only a year later, the gathered artists faced a major problem. There was no script to connect the isolated songs, and thus, there was no story nor collective substance. This issue was solved by “John Gordon,” who was accredited for writing the book. “John Gordon,” however, did not exist. He was a pseudonym for Gesner, the cast, and production staff who collaborated to adapt their favorite Peanuts comic strips into dialogue that could provide structure for the songs. The popular characters of Schroeder and Patty were added to fill out the cast even though neither figure had their own songs. The musical premiered off-Broadway premiere on March 7, 1967, and it was a hit with critics and audience members alike, ensuring that it remained in the repertoire of musical theatre artists for years to come.
A planned revival in 1999 updated the show to reflect the current conceptualization of Peanuts. Patty was replaced by Sally Brown, Charlie Brown’s little sister who had grown up to be one of the most recognizable characters since the 60s. Shroeder and Sally were also given their own songs—“Beethoven Day” for the former and “Rabbit Chasing” and "My New Philosophy” for the latter—which were written by the composer Andrew Lippa. Several of the songs and scenes were rearranged to accommodate these changes. While not as critically acclaimed as the original premiere, the revised version became the standard version of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown for the 21st century, and it is the version you will see tonight.
The revised version also kept the episodic format of the original production, by crafting its narrative through self-contained incidents rather than a linear plot, much like the comic strips it was based on. Rather than pushing a cohesive storyline forward, the scenes act as vignettes, a literary term used to describe short passages that capture a moment in time to focus on either the mood of the scene or the development of a specific character. In this way, the musical distorts time and space. The musical take place on an average day in the life of Charlie Brown, existing in isolation just like the days that came before it and the days that will come after it, and the world that the characters inhabit is distorted and exaggerated to affirm the fact that the adults onstage are indeed children.
At its core, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, just like the Peanuts comic strip that inspired it, produces nostalgia in its audience. As you watch the show, feel free to take in what you see and consider how it may speak to memories of what Charlie Brown and his friends have meant to you.
"Opening" - Company
"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" - Company
"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" (reprise) - Charlie Brown, Linus, Sally
"Schroeder" - Lucy
"Snoopy" - Snoopy
"My Blanket and Me" - Linus and Company
"Queen Lucy" - Lucy and Linus
"The Kite" - Charlie Brown
"The Doctor Is In" - Lucy and Charlie Brown
"Beethoven Day" - Schroeder and Company
"Rabbit Chasing" - Sally and Snoopy
"The Book Report" - Company
"The Red Baron" - Snoopy
"My New Philosophy" - Sally and Schroeder
"T-E-A-M/The Baseball Game" - Charlie Brown and Company
"Glee Club Rehearsal" - Company
"Little Known Facts" - Lucy, Linus, Charlie Brown
"Suppertime" - Snoopy
"Happiness" - Company
Bows - Company
