Lawrence University Musical Production (LUMP) presents You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at 8:00 p.m. April 13-14 and at 3:00 p.m. April 15 in Cloak Theatre of the Lawrence Music-Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton.
Based on Charles Schultz’ popular comic strip, the show is made up of little moments picked from the life of everyone’s favorite “Peanuts” character, Charlie Brown, from Valentine’s Day to the baseball season, from wild optimism to utter despair, from bright uncertain morning to hopeful starlit evening.
The original off-Broadway production, with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner, opened on March 7, 1967, and ran for 1,597 performances. In 1971, it moved to Broadway where it played for only 32 performances. In 1999, the show was revived on Broadway and included one new character, two new songs, and completely new orchestrations with piano, violin, viola, saxophone, clarinet, flute, bass, and percussion.
According to director, Jacob Allen, ’03, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown has been produced several times at Lawrence, although this is the first time the revised edition will be performed. Rebecca Young, ’07 choreographs the performance, and Bonnie Alger, ‘06, provides musical assistance. Starring as Charlie Brown is Mike Axtell, ‘08. Other characters include Siri Hellerman, ’06, as Lucy; Brad Grimmer, ’06, as Schroeder; Peter Welch, ’09, as Linus; Meghan Phillip, ’06, as Sally; and Stephen Christensen, ’08, as Snoopy.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students and are available at the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center, or by phone at 920-832-6749, beginning March 27.
