Creston High School stage comes alive with ‘Peanuts’ cast

Creston High School Vocal will present the comic-strip inspired musical "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" in three performances Friday through Sunday.

Performed in its Broadway revival version, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" presents a look at the ups and downs of being a kid. The CHS musical stars Cayden Shiltz as the long-suffering Charlie Brown, with his sister Sally played by Micaela Huss. Ben Mullin and Rae Anne Hopkins play brother and sister, Linus and Lucy. Logan Angelo plays Beethoven-loving Schroeder, and Ryan Vasquez will perform the role of Snoopy. The cast is rounded out with an ensemble of singers and dancers complimented by a five-piece orchestra pit conducted by Band Instructor Jane Warner.

CHS's performance is directed by Vocal Instructor Debra L. Fischer, with choreography by Melisa Crook, Rachel Foth, Cayden Shiltz and Megan Travis. Set design is by Diane Miller and Shari Walters.

"Directing and producing musicals is one of my favorite parts of my job," said Fischer. "However, I could not successfully do this task without the help, support and involvement of many individuals working together as a team."

"You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown," with book, music, and lyrics by Clark M. Gesner and based on the comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schulz, is a musical comedy. This award-winning  musical features songs such as “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “Beethoven Day” and “The Doctor Is In.” The musical is performed through a series of vignettes that mimic the four-panel format used by the original cartoon strip.

A program note says the time of the action is "an average day in the life of Charlie Brown." Scenes depict a day made up of little moments picked from all the days of Charlie Brown, from Valentine's Day to the baseball season, writing book reports to daydreaming, all mixed in with the lives of his friends. The first scene opens with Charlie Brown standing alone as his friends give their various opinions of him, each overlapping the other. Everyone is calling him a "good man." Charlie Brown wonders if he really is what they say and decides to find out how he can really become a good person.