THE COMICS COME ALIVE AT THE RED BARN THEATRE WITH “YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN”

At some point in our lives – in a moment when it feels like the world is conspiring against us in every way possible -- we all feel like Charlie Brown.

Maybe that’s why we love him so much. Cartoon character he may be, but we recognize that he is, in reality, us, and we relate. He lets us know that no matter what happens in those unexpected and mostly unwanted instants, we’re going to survive.

Well, the Red Barn Theatre invites all the Charlie Browns in us to join them for fun and music in the final production of their 47th season, as Charlie Brown – along with all the other beloved characters in the Peanuts comic strip -- take their stage in “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown”, for four shows only,  May 1-3.

The show was a massive Broadway hit in the late Sixties, and again in revival in the late Nineties, garnering Outer Critics Circle Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and three Tony Awards. It has become one of the most-performed musicals in American theatre history, celebrating its 58th year of entertaining audiences.

The Red Barn’s production is a special one, featuring the stellar talents of a host of young musical theater students out of Bravo Theatre, a group of 2nd to 7th graders from area schools. Daniel Goldberg will play Charlie Brown, Olivia Blass will be Lucy, Cody Hawks will be Schroeder, Annabel Garrido plays Snoopy, Rowan Thompson is Linus, and Virginia Spottswood takes on Sally. Joining them as part of the ensemble are Zadie Haskell, Romy Witherow, Scarlet Smith, Mila Fernandez, Isabel Marrero, and Uma Simon. The show is co-directed by Lauren Thompson and Amber McDonald Good.

“It’s fantastic,” Thompson said of working with young talent. “These kids are really inspiring because they are fearless. All the inhibitions and stops we have as adults, they don’t have. Their minds are not cluttered up as yet….they’re so much more adept at connecting openly and easily. You really feel like you’re looking at fresh minds open and alive to the fun they’re presenting.”

The show – a series of vignettes featuring songs that capture you and choreography that amazes – follows Charlie Brown, the eternal blockhead, as he and his gang suffer through disastrous baseball games, infuriating book reports, and – of course – the humiliation of trying to kick a football out of Lucy’s hands. But as trying as all that may be, in the end they remind each other – and us – that happiness is all around us.

“The best part of the show,” Thompson said, “is that cartoonist Charles Shultz had an incredible ability to draw his characters in deep and meaningful conversations about human beings and how we each may see things and how we’re emotionally different from one another. It’s really wonderful to have kids do this, because they’re learning as they’re doing the show…having the experience. It’s an important time for conversations such as these. For them and for us.”

The music and book for the show were originally written by Clark Gesner with later additions by Andrew Lippa, who also wrote “The Addams Family.” Musical direction for the Red Barn production is by Nancy 3 Hoffman, with choreography by Penny Leto. Sushi will be making all the costumes.

Called “A delight! A small miracle...almost everything works because almost everything is effortless…” by the New York Times, and “…a show that comforts your nostalgic inner child while welcoming the newer generations with open arms…” by DC Metro Theatre Arts.

Tickets are already limited. Visit redbarntheatre.com or call the box office at 305-296-9911 before they completely sell out. Shows are Friday at 7 pm, Saturday at 2 pm and 7 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm.

The show is sponsored in part by the generous support of Truman and Company, the Community Foundation, and Keys Open Doors.