You're a Good Man Charlie Brown
Music & Lyrics by Clark Gesner
Book by John Gordon based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz
Book by John Gordon based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz
Directed by Bernie Schuneman
Musical Direction by Dave Aldis
The time of the action is an “average day in the life of Charlie Brown.” It really is just that, a day made up of little moments picked from all the days of Charlie Brown, from Valentine’s Day to the baseball season, from wild optimism to utter despair, all mixed up with the lives of his friends, (both human and non-human) and strung together on the string of a single day, from bright, uncertain morning to hopeful, starlit evening.
All the well-known figures are present; Charlie, of course, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, and even the dog, Snoopy. The vignettes depicting them follow no real pattern, seeming almost as haphazard as their childish world. After an opening paean to Charlie, Lucy dreams of being a queen and bossing the world. Linus sings of his need for a security blanket, Snoopy plans to capture the Red Baron while a baseball game degenerates into a poll gauging Lucy’s popularity. In the end the youngsters and the dog each give his or her idea of what true happiness is with Charlie Brown concluding “happiness is anything and anyone that’s loved by you.”
All the well-known figures are present; Charlie, of course, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, and even the dog, Snoopy. The vignettes depicting them follow no real pattern, seeming almost as haphazard as their childish world. After an opening paean to Charlie, Lucy dreams of being a queen and bossing the world. Linus sings of his need for a security blanket, Snoopy plans to capture the Red Baron while a baseball game degenerates into a poll gauging Lucy’s popularity. In the end the youngsters and the dog each give his or her idea of what true happiness is with Charlie Brown concluding “happiness is anything and anyone that’s loved by you.”
