PEANUTS © United Feature Syndicate, Inc. Charlie Brown and Snoopy come to life in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."





By Michael Rosen-Molina

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Good grief!

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” brings the beloved Peanuts characters Linus, Lucy, Sally, Snoopy, Schroeder and, of course, good ole Charlie Brown to the stage. Presented by the UCLA Department of Music and based on situations from Charles Schultz’s syndicated comic strip, the musical follows a day in the life of Charlie Brown, from a baseball game to an encounter with the object of his unrequited affection, the little red-headed girl.

“It’s a good show,” said fourth-year computer science student Joshua Silberman who plays Charlie Brown. “It’s not a heavy show; it’s really fun. You could almost say it’s blatantly musical theater since it has slightly poppy music.”

The play started as a Broadway musical in 1950. The music department will perform a revised version from 1999, that added several new songs, including “Beethoven’s Day” and “My New Philosophy” and replaced Peppermint Patty with Sally.

Audiences will be most familiar with the Peanuts gang as two dimensional drawings from Sunday cartoons. Portraying characters about whom most people already have very definite ideas about proved slightly daunting for the actors.

“I was a little intimidated,” said third-year theater student Amber East who plays Sally. “But you’ll be intimidated almost every time you play an established character. If you’re playing ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ you’d be just as intimidated.”

In creating a costume for a live action Peanuts character, some people might be tempted to imitate the huge-headed mascots of Knott’s Berry Farm’s Camp Snoopy. “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” found a more workable solution to the costuming dilemma, however: the actors simply don the trademark dress of their characters. Lucy appears in her blue dress, Linus in his red striped shirt, and Snoopy wears a white t-shirt and white overalls to simulate white fur.

“It uses the colors from the comic strip,” Silberman said. “I wear the yellow shirt with the black stripe. There was some talk about maybe getting our heads shaved, but we decided against that.”

Even without the trademark bald head, Silberman still found it easy to identify with his character.

“I think everyone identifies with Charlie Brown at some point,” Silberman said. “Although it’s not easy to remember what it was like when you were 6 years old. I try to think more simplistically and optimistically. The big picture doesn’t matter as much as small things, like finding the right ice cream cone.”

Since the show is based on a comic strip, East found a unique way to prepare for her role.

“I read the comics and watched the specials,” East said. “If you watch the show you’ll notice that the movements are kind of choppy. For a while we thought we should do something to build on that, but then the whole point of doing a live show is to bring these characters to life, to make them more real.”

“I’m a little sister, too,” East continued. “I know how little sisters work.”

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” is also unique in that it has been triple cast, using three entirely different casts in different performances.

“It’s hard because that means less rehearsal time for everyone,” East said. “But it’s also good because it gives more people a chance to get involved.”

The performance is the final project for the 2001 Winter quarter Musical Theater Workshop 90L. Open to all students willing to audition, the class generally takes the form of a workshop during the fall and spring quarters, but always performs a show in winter quarter.

Above all, Silberman emphasized the light-hearted nature of the show. “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” might not tackle the pressing social issues of the day, but, like its parent comic, it is a gentle, warm-hearted production that touches even the most cynical viewer.

“It’s a good, warm type of show,” Silberman said. “There aren’t any real issues, there’s no overall major plot. It’s a great date show and you can’t help but come out smiling. All three casts just do a wonderful job.”

THEATER: “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” plays Feb. 22 to 24, at 8 p.m. at Schoenberg Auditorium and again at 3 p.m. on Feb. 24. For more information, contact the Department of Music at (310) 825- 2101.