You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!
By Joanne Santomauro
We all recognize the familiar yellow and brown shirt along with the sad, frowning face from the Sunday comics. As the classic American story of "permanent bad luck," Charlie Brown is an all time favorite.
With that in mind, the Santa Clara theatre department will be performing "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" in the Fess Parker Theatre starting this Friday and continuing through May 21. The musical comedy depicts a day in the life of the Peanuts comic strip gang.
Most members of the Santa Clara community have probably heard about the production through Facebook. To promote the show, the Center of Performing Arts posted photos of Santa Clara students and faculty posing next to a cutout of Charlie Brown. The caption reads, "Do you love the Peanuts? Go back to your childhood with this musical hit!"
The heart of this production lies in its simplicity. Directed by Amanda Folena and staged in Fess Parker, the blackbox theater next to Mayer, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" relies on one backdrop and a cast of six.
Despite only a few cast members, each member boasts a great deal of talent. The cast is composed of familiar faces from other Center of Performing Arts productions. Schroeder is played by sophomore Dimitri Woods, who does a good job of portraying the oddly sophisticated child pianist. Senior Michael Dessel plays Linus, the slightly pompous blanket-dependent younger brother of Lucy, who is played by Kayla Berghoff. Both Dessel and Berghoff are perfect in their roles.
Snoopy is played by Senior Blake Coelho. Coelho delivers a fantastic performance as the contemplative beagle, complete with "arf"s and "woof"s in all the right places. Sophomore Michelle Cabinian shines as Sally Brown, giving an energetic, vibrant performance as the emotional, grade-grubbing younger sister of the famous Charlie Brown. Junior Keegan Wada plays America's favorite hopelessly optimistic (and unfortunately insecure) eight-year-old Charlie Brown.
The song-filled production more closely resembles the comic strip than the movie. The production is composed of a series of vignettes from Charlie Brown's life, from his struggle to win the attention of "the red-headed girl" to receiving psychiatric help from Lucy. Wada is a delight to watch, delivering Charlie Brown's sympathy-inducing one-liners with sincerity and ease. He contemplates his mornings saying,
"I wake up wondering if anyone would miss me if I never got out of bed." "Charlie Brown" demonstrates a variety of one-line zingers. For instance, in one musical scene, Linus interjects,
"Sucking your thumb without a blanket is like eating a cone without ice cream."
Each cast member has outstanding vocal talent, especially Cabinian, whose character often performs more operatic solos than the others. The score features everyone's favorite Peanuts hits and each musical number is accompanied by live piano music.
Like I said, simplicity works well for this play. Without a real plot, the characters are free to run around stage and just have a good time. In fact, many conversations in "Charlie Brown" are interrupted by a spree of characters running, scootering, and skipping across stage. The production involves kazoos, a blanket dance, and much more. It's all crazy, in a good way.
"My favorite part of the production is being able to play around," Cabinian said. "We just have fun all the time... I don't feel like I'm working. There are only six of us, so we're all buddies now."
In "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," there isn't a single dull moment.
Showtimes vary depending on day. Buy tickets online or at the Center of Performing Arts box office. Laughter is guaranteed.
Contact Joanne at jsantomauro@scu.edu or at (408) 554-1918.