Review: YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN at Morrilton High School goes on after a two-year wait

After two years of rearranging schedules due to....well, you know....Morrilton High School Thespian Troupe 3131 was finally able to perform YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN at HB White Auditorium in Morrilton May 6-8. Directed by Heather Hooten with assistance by Samarah Gulledge and music direction by Tiffanie Manes, the cast and crew brought the Charlie Brown comics to life with music, dancing, and jokes in a comic strip manner.

Based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, all of the favorite characters were in this performance, and along with the characters come some of their more favorite skits. The show opens with the cast singing the title song, and then they are off to school. Charlie Brown (Bradley Mendelssohn) has lunch, contemplating life and his peanut butter sandwich and notices the redheaded girl (Erica Huff) that he has a crush on. At recess Lucy (Juliana Breshears) sings "Schroeder" to Schroeder (Lamar Anderson) while he is playing the piano. In another scene, Snoopy (Salina Sosa) is at his house dreaming of all of the people that love him, but how he wishes he were a wild fierce animal ready to bite someone. After school Lucy tells Charlie Brown it's April Fools and plays a trick on him. Also, she steals Linus' (Danajah Penn) blanket. Next, Linus sings a song about his blanket, and it comes to life (Kayli Gentry) and does a dance number with it. After that, Lucy comes in and tells Linus she wants to be queen, and Linus tells her why she can't be queen. Then, Sally (Hailey-Anne White) argues with her teacher...wa wa wa wa wa wa....to get her paper changed from a C to a higher grade, and the skits and songs keep going on from there.

This show was so cute and funny. The characterizations were great! Sosa's Snoopy was energetic and playful; Mendelssohn's Charlie Brown was self-loathing yet hopeful, like the original character; White's Sally was fun to watch chasing Snoopy around; but Breshears' Lucy had the biggest personality-I laughed and laughed and laughed until I had tears during her song to Schroeder. The whole cast had you smiling from beginning to end.

The costumes were reflective of the characters in the comic strip with bold, bright colors, as well as the set. There was even an oversized chair at some point and Snoopy's doghouse in the background. This show was an audience favorite, and I am super proud of my Alma Mater for such a great production.

For more information on upcoming shows and activities, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ThespianTroupe3131.

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