“You’re a Good Man ,Charlie Brown” reviewed by Edie Reese

 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED **** Are you looking for a family-friendly musical that will also appeal to adults? Look no further than Citadel Theatre’s production of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,” running now through December 23, 2021. The show, based upon the popular Charles Schulz comic strip, explores the “everyperson” in all of us. What does it mean to be a good person? Should we stand out from the crowd or blend in?

Before the show starts, the audience sees a series of flat, white panels (akin to comic strip boxes) as the backdrop and set piece of the show. In the opening number (“You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown”) the cast places pictures of Charlie Brown in many of his cartoon iterations on the panels. As the show continues, however, Scenic Designer Eric Luchen’s genius comes to life as the panels light up and change color. The ever-changing moods of the show are also enhanced by Samuel Stephen’s lighting design.

The able cast: Sierra White as Lucy, Neil Stratman as Charlie Brown, Jimmy Hogan as Schroeder, Alley Ellis as Sally Brown, Marcellus Burt as Linus Van Pelt and Tusdai B. Perry as Snoopy; are all engaging and vocally strong. They maintain high energy throughout the fast-paced performance. The cast uses the entire stage as well as the audience aisles, which is sure to delight any children in attendance. Kudos to choreographer Jake Ganzer for Linus’ soft shoe number (“My Blanket and Me”) and Sally’s snappy-talking tap number (“My New Philosophy”).

The peppy band – (Music Director) David Zizic, piano, Kyle Gentile, percussion, Eric Von Holst, bass and Kedgrick Pullums, reed—keeps the show rolling along.
Prop Designer Jonathan Berg-Einhorn keeps the comic-book feel of the show by making every single prop two-dimensional, down to a baseball. Costume Designer Colin Brady adds creative touches such as using a hand puppet for Woodstock, Snoopy’s bird friend, and finding the sparkliest-ever ensemble for Sally’s costume. Tight direction is provided by longtime director/actor Joe Lehman.

This musical was originally written by Clark Gesner in 1967 and was updated with additional lyrics by Andrew Lippa in 1999. It is the updated version which is playing at the Citadel. Performances are:

Wednesdays,  1 pm
Thursdays 7:30 pm
Fridays at 8 pm
Saturdays  s p.m. and 8 pm
Sunday at 3 pm

Ticket prices are $40 for Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and $45 for Saturdays and Sundays.

There are discounts available for groups, seniors and students. Tickets may be purchased online www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone 847-735-8554, ext. 1. Citadel Theatre is following COVID protocol and masks must be worn, regardless of vaccine status, upon entry into the theater and throughout the performance.

Citadel Theatre is located at 300 South Waukegan Road, Lake Forest,  with plenty of free parking

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com. Go to Review Round-Up and click at “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”.

Editor’s notes: I went to the Saturday afternoon show today. I have been a “friend of Citadel” for many years and always enjoy my “neighborhood theater” and their productions. What I noted is that this cast is sharp and quite talented. Alley Ellis who plays Sally is one of the highest energy performers I have seen. She can dance, sing and plays her character to perfection.. Charlie Brown is played by Neil Stratman also making his debut at Citadel. As I have said many times, young actors keep coming to our area where they know they will find work!

While there were a few slow areas in the production, but that is the fault of the writing .Surprisingly the youngsters in the audience caught all the side jokes, so I guess Charlie Brown is still “alive and well” in the public eye. Lehman’s direction is smooth and the set is unique, with little boxes and doors allowing changes to be made quickly. This is a great family show and runs two hours with a 13 minute intermission. The final number is called “Happiness” and I think we alll exited the theater feeling just that emotion- Happiness is seeing “You’re A Good Man Charley Brown” in lake Forest.