“You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Revised)” will open at the Proscenium Theatre Thursday. Credit: Apple via TNS
Light-hearted nostalgia will soon take the stage at the Proscenium Theatre — located at 1932 College Rd. North — as Ohio State’s Department of Theatre, Film and Media Arts brings its production of “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Revised).”
The musical runs Thursday through April 17, allowing 3D versions of Peanuts characters to remind audiences to take a break and enjoy musical excerpts of childhood joys, including baseball games and everyday victories.
Directed by Mandy Fox, professor of Theatre, Film and Media Arts and with music direction by Theo Jackson, the production leans into something rare in today’s world: quiet and familiar happiness.
“The world is such a noisy place right now in so many ways, regardless of where you fall politically, religiously, any of that,” Fox said. “Regardless of your lived experiences, I hope that this gives us all just a brief breath, where we can remember, we were all kids.”
The show follows Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts characters as they try to understand life’s biggest questions, all while enjoying their childhood, according to the department’s website. The first on-stage production of “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” was in 1967, but it was revised in 1999.
Lukas Cinko, a third-year in business who plays Charlie Brown, said he hopes to convey the value of close relationships in the show.
“The message we hope to give to audiences is the fact that we are nothing without the people next to us,” Cinko said. “If you don’t have your neighbors or your partners, your best friends or your classmates, then you lose your sense of love, and what we call happiness in the show.”?
The production surrounds the 2D “Peanuts” world created by Charles Schulz. With help from the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, a campus resource with its own Charles Schulz exhibit, Cinko said students utilized the archives to help with their character building.
“Everyone has known these characters on their 2D level … the biggest challenge has been making them 3D,” Cinko said. “Adding that extra layer you can’t really get across in a newspaper or over a screen.”
Fox said making use of the university archives in the production ties into the college experience.
“For students to go and see that work and spend some time over there and use the archive, that’s research, that’s college,” Fox said.
Cinko said his experience being a student actor and playing the iconic character has helped him grow significantly in the theater space.
“It’s honestly been probably the most fulfilling experience I’ve ever had in theater,” Cinko said. “[There’s] been an exponential amount of growth and opportunity in Charlie Brown.”
With a small ensemble and many hours of work put in, Cinko said there is a strong sense of community within the cast.
“We have such great set designers and the scenic team has been working all season long to bring our sets to life, and I’m so excited to add our new layer of tech to the show soon,” Cinko said. “Building the little moments throughout the scenes.”
The production’s message on valuing community is not restricted to the production itself, but to theater at Ohio State as a whole, Fox said. She said it is not necessary for students to be in the theatre major or minor, and anyone can audition for upcoming fall productions on the department’s website.?
“We’ve been working really hard, but also laughing a lot, and it’s just been an absolute delight,” Fox said.
There will be puppies in the lobby thanks to Schulz family donor, Canine Companions — a nonprofit organization that provides trained service dogs and support to people with disabilities — along with a jazz band playing songs by Vince Guaraldi, who composed the soundtrack for classic Peanuts movies and shows, such as the 1966 film “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”
Tickets are $33.75 for standard admission, $22.25 for Ohio State alumni, faculty, staff and seniors, and $17.25 for students and children. They are available to purchase on Ticketmaster, over the phone at (614) 292-2295 or at the Ohio State Theatre Ticket Office.
“Happiness is being alone every now and then, but happiness is coming home again,” Cinko said, quoting the lyrics of “Happiness,” the show’s closing number.?
