By GINA KINSLOW
Glasgow Daily Times
HORSE CAVE —
The musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” will open at Kentucky Repertory Theatre on Friday.
The show is being presented by the theater’s Young Performers acting group under the direction of Shawn Knight, who has appeared on stage at Kentucky Rep in “Amadeus,” “Christmas Belles,” and in his own one-man musical cabaret production about George Gershwin.
“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” is based on the late Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” comic strip.
“It is a basically a day-in-the-life of Charlie Brown and his friends,” said Knight. “There’s not a lot of plot. It’s literally the story of little scenes from Charlie Brown’s day, all the trials and tribulations that a 6-year-old would encounter. It’s a wonderful, family-friendly kind of show.”
“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” is presented by the Young Performers.
Knight came up with the idea to do the show.
“I actually first mentioned the show to Robert [Brock, artistic director] a few years ago, and part of it was just the idea that it would be a fun show that could draw families in and lots of people would come see it,” he said. “It’s a very fun, sweet show. The reason they gave it the youth performers is that some of the youth are more youthful.”
The cast, which ranges in age from 9 to 19, has varying degrees of acting experience and hail from all across central Kentucky. The cast has been in rehearsals for four weeks.
Starring as Charlie Brown is Jayson Schroeder, 15, of Cave City.
The show will be the first musical he has done.
“It’s pretty fun,” he said. “I don’t even know how to read music.”
Cast as the pretend psychologist and Charlie Brown’s nemesis, Lucy, is Felicia Fisher, 19, of Glasgow, who said the show has been challenging.
“It’s been challenging because I’m playing a character that I didn’t think I would be able to accomplish,” she said. “I’ve done seven musicals and multiple plays, but it’s been a challenge because I’m not used to performing with tracks. I’m used to performing with orchestras.”
Portraying Marcie, the eyeglass-wearing brunette, is Raena Hubbell, 14, of Hodgenville.
Hubbell described her experience with the show as being “odd, but it’s also been very fun.”
Hubbell has a background in classical musical.
“I have trained with two different opera singers over the past year, so Broadway musicals are kind of new for me,” she said.
“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” was first presented off Broadway in 1967 and premiered on Broadway in 1971, according to a Kentucky Rep press release.
It was adapted for television in 1973 as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special on NBC. In 1999, the musical was revived on Broadway, winning the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical and two Tony Awards.
Kentucky Rep’s Young Performers have an 11-year history of performing classic plays, mostly Shakespeare, the press release stated. “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” will not only be their first musical, but also their first comedy production.
