Review: Think Tank Theatre's YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN at freeFall

“Happiness is anyone and anything at all that’s loved by you.” --from the song “Happiness”

YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN holds a dear place in my heart.  Fifty-five years ago, in 1969, when I was just six years old, my world forever changed when I attended a production of it at the Shady Grove in Washington, D.C.  Around the same time that man first walked on the moon, I felt that I was also whisked away far from the earth and landed onto a completely different  world, a planet inhabited by Charles M. Schultz’s beloved cartoony creations.  It was an alternate universe of sorts, both funny and sometimes sad, the way life really is.  There was a dog singing enthusiastically about eating his supper; there was a pathetic boy so shy that he put his paper lunch sack over his head; and there was another boy who seemed obsessed with Beethoven the way I was obsessed with dinosaurs.  And that final song, “Happiness,” so sweet and so moving, would be my go-to feel-good hymn when anything would go wrong in life.  Over a half-century later, it still is.

Think Tank Theatre’s production of YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, currently playing at freeFall as part of their Tandem Series, brought back so many of those memories. The show, with words and music by Clark Gesner and additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, harkens back to a simpler time in our lives (and our world) but one with no less emotional complexity. 

Like the cartoon strip that it’s based on, YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN elicits humor with its keen observations of life, but it also carries around a sad sack of loneliness and poignancy. It’s a show we smile at, sometimes a wounded smile in remembrances of childhood’s small agonies (agonies we hopefully tackled and put to rest as we entered adulthood), but it’s a show that everyone, no matter what age, can identify with. You may even see yourself and your family members and friends up there.  (My older sister was like the bossy Lucy; my brother was like the brainy Linus; I was definitely a hyperactive Snoopy; and I’m still trying to figure out who my other sister would be.)

The current production started off a little groggy, as if it was trying to find its footing.  It seemed like a forced attempt at Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In style humor using Peanuts and the gang. I wondered if maybe, sadly the show didn’t work in our divided 2024 world; maybe we as a country had finally outgrown Charles M. Schultz, which--good grief!--was a depressing thought to a person whose life was changed by this show.  But then something miraculous happened.  About halfway through Act 1, the production hit its stride and, in the end, became an incredible experience.  We haven’t outgrown Charlie Brown and his pals; they’re still alive and thriving with some of the most endearing songs in musical theatre history.   And Think Tank Theatre has tapped into that with an absolutely joyous production.

As our bedraggled title hero, Cameron Kubly was born to play the role; this is a Charlie Brown for the ages, the lonely kid who just wants to be noticed, who tries but most of the time fails, a perennial loser but one with a big heart that we wind up respecting (even if no one around him, not even his dog, does).  He never gives up.  Sometimes in Kubly’s capable hands he comes off as an Eeyore, a Debbie Downer, which is how he is written, always focusing on the losses rather than wins (because there are so few of them).  Like with his kite, he tries, fails, tries again, fails--he’s Sisyphus  as a blockhead.  

Mr. Kubly is so dry in his delivery, so matter of fact and simple; he sounds so much like a young Mr. Rogers that I wondered if “There’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” was going to be added to the playlist. 

As Snoopy, Kelsey Lopez is lovably adorable, full of spunk.  I just wish there was even more unpredictability  in the part, more anarchy and verve.  Snoopy should be the real star of the show; when I first saw it in 1969, Snoopy was not just my hero, but the world’s.  We owned a Snoopy soap dish, a red Snoopy lunch box, and a cool Snoopy-as-an-astronaut vinyl doll; we didn’t have any toys featuring the other characters. In this production, Snoopy’s dog house was placed way off to the side of the action; it worked from where I was sitting, but I wonder how easily the audience members on the other side of the theater could see it.

The “Red Baron” number has never really worked for me in any version of the show, but in the song “Snoopy,” I truly appreciated the kazoo marching band used here.  And Ms. Lopez, who has a tremendous singing voice, really brought down the house with her rendition of “Suppertime” (aided by a mute Woodstock, played by Stella Duncan with engagingly expressive facial reactions); this number was like something you would find at a church revival, and it garnered the loudest applause of the evening.

Jonathan O’Brien brings out his inner Sheldon Cooper as the thumb-sucking Linus, sometimes a little too William Barfee for my tastes.  He’s a bit over the top at times, but his “My Blanket and Me,” a song where he professes his love for his security blanky, worked quite well. 

Isabella Falber plays Lucy, the Crabby Queen, to the hilt.  Looking like a lost member of the B-52’s, she has phenomenal singing voice and plays the many levels of the character—cantankerous older sister, bullying friend, and a little girl who underneath her tough layers shows genuine heart.   She’s at her best in “Schroeder,” when she comes onto the pianist as he plays “Moonlight Sonata” and in her rendition of “Little Known Facts,” a Peanuts precursor to fake news.

The talented ensemble should be given more to do than just move set pieces.  They’re in certain of the big numbers but they could be utilized even more.  They include Via Shea, Jadon Milne, Lilyanna Meyer, Gustavo Perez, Sofia Acebedo, Yara Perez and Ashlin Sullivan.

Two cast members stand out and offer amazing performances that rocked my world.

Dane Becker brings out every quality in Schroeder, including a wall-shaking singing voice that gave me goosebumps.  His version of “Beethoven Day” turned a song that was never my favorite into the best number of the show.  In every moment, Mr. Becker elevates the entire cast, and when he sings, the audience can’t help but listen.  Incredible work.  

Equal to Mr. Becker is Alexa Lowry as Sally, Charlie Brown’s sister. With her little-girl voice as if she just sucked in a breath of helium, she’s like a jolt of electricity every time she enters the stage.  She talks rat-tat-tat fast like a young Carole Lombard and shows us what it’s like to 100% own a role and a stage.  Her rendition of the show’s most famous number (just ask anyone who’s been to a thespian competition), “My New Philosophy,” her duet with Mr. Becker’s Schroeder, is outstanding. It’s a true star turn.

The cast’s vocals and harmonies are gorgeous, especially in the vocally difficult "Book Report," thanks to the area’s elite music director, Michael Raabe.  His tight orchestra includes Jason Tucker on keyboards, Josh Hollenbeck on reeds, Ross DeBardeladen on viola and violin, and Melanie Downs on drums. And Jessica Scruggs choreography fits each song beautifully; I especially enjoyed the clever use of dog dishes in "Suppertime."

James Putnam’s set design, unobtrusively aided by Jo Averill-Snell’s lighting, resembles a large comic strip rectangle with cut-out cartoon trees and clouds.  (You can even pose for photos with Snoopy’s iconic red doghouse before and after the show.)

Director Georgia Mallory Guy adriotly guides her young cast and the show's pace with gusto, leading  YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN from the comic strip roots to authentic feelings of alienation and existentialism (yes, all of this in a show based on a comic).  It’s a humorous musical where we smile throughout rather than laugh out loud. And the ending song, “Happiness,” still tears me to shreds, still wilts my heart.  I take it with me wherever I go, even today, and watching it last night brought tears to my eyes, the true power of theatre in the single sweetest song to ever grace a musical.  I felt it when I first experienced the show in 1969, and I felt it last night.  And I’m sure that’s the feeling that you’ll have when you see and hear it as well: Happiness.  Sheer, giddy, dance-down-the-aisles happiness.

Think Tank Theatre’s YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, in tandem with freeFall Theatre Company, runs thru June 16th.

Photo Credit: Ashley Emrick Photography.

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