Vanguard and the UT Martin Department of Visual and Theatre Arts ran its production of the toe-tapping show You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown on March 2 through March 5. Based on the classic “Peanuts” comic strip from Charles M. Schultz and originally written by Clark Geser in 1967, this musical adaptation tracks the highs and lows in the single day of the titular young lad and his rag-tag group of friends, including dog Snoopy and sister Sally along with Lucy, Linus and Schroeder, as they experience the hopefulness of youth and grapple with the turmoil of coming-of-age.
The cast comprised Hunter Burton as Charlie Brown, Gabriel Rogers as Snoopy, Carlin Cochran as Sally, Madison Butner as Lucy, Elijah Davadison as Linus and Nylan Barr as Schroeder. Cochran and Butner also served as the cast’s choreographer and vocal coach, respectively, to assist performers with acclimating to the transition from more traditional plays.
Through vibrant sets and costumes, exuberant musical numbers and an irresistibly playful energy, the show evokes the joyful nostalgia of adolescence, and this was key for director Melanie Hollis, who is also a professor in the theatre department.
“We hope the audience will leave with a good experience. This is a happy show, and we need these types of shows sometimes!” Hollis says.
Just as the cast and crew sought to elate the audience with this lighthearted show, they also hoped it would be an enriching experience for themselves as they continue to develop their theatrical skills, which was integral in the selection of the show.
“We felt You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown was a good fit for our students. It’s a small cast with an upbeat story line, with characters that are recognizable! And it gave students an opportunity to sing and dance, as well as allowing our students interested in the technical aspects of theatre to design the show,” Hollis says.
As both a director and teacher, Hollis hopes audiences appreciate the considerable acting and musical talents of UT Martin students as they pursue their artistic voices; only one cast member is a current theatre major, but all of them were wholly committed through extensive rehearsals as they still upheld their academic responsibilities outside the show. Putting their own creative stamp on the Charlie Brown property while honoring its roots was crucial.
“Certainly we want to stay true to the Charlie Brown story and the characters but also allow the actors to create their own version of these characters. Our Charlie Brown is 6’5″- not what we normally think of for this character,” Hollis says.
With another show in the books, Hollis hopes to further cement the theatre department as an essential part of the campus community.
“With the coming year, I hope we can continue to build our department and offer shows the community will love to attend! I would like to include a musical every year. We haven’t done a comedy in a while!” Hollis says.
Art is imperative as it reflects life and allows people to unify as they partake in a nourishing and shared human experience. At the conclusion, as the characters come to the bittersweet realization that they are all perfectly imperfect individuals, the gang underscores what makes them whole in the grand finale “Happiness:” “For happiness is anyone and anything at all/ That’s loved by you.” The ability to bask in the graceful and dignifying details of everyday existence with others is one of the greatest treasures of being human. Full of life itself, the musical allows the audience to do precisely that.
“People love to tell stories, our own and those around us. Theatre is important because it allows us to share commonalites and enlighten others to events and people that might be new. The arts are one of the best ways to learn about a culture and to understand it. Theatre is a place for students to play, to learn and to grow!” Hollis says.
Charlie Brown is a good man, indeed.
Photo Credit/University Relations
