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Charlie Brown is like the Halley's Comet of kid's theater in Huntington.
Like clockwork, every 10 years, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Peppermint Patty and friends magically peel themselves from the pages of the Sunday comics to come alive on stage thanks to First Stage Theatre Company.
This weekend, First Stage, which picked the playful musical, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, as its first show 20 years ago, and as its 10th anniversary show in 2000, is reviving that show as well as its sequel, Snoopy, for the next two weekends at the Jean Carlo Stephenson Auditorium at Huntington City Hall.You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 18; 8 p.m. Saturday, March 20; 8 p.m. Friday, March 26; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 28.
The musical, Snoopy, will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday, March 19; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 21; 8 p.m. Thursday, March 25; and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 27.
Admission is $12; $10 for kids 12 and under.
Clint McElroy, who is directing both shows, said the historic undertaking of putting up two Peanuts musicals at one time has been dubbed Peanutsapalooza.
"The set is beautiful and it looks like they just stepped inside a Peanuts strip, and the characters and the songs are a blast," McElroy said. 'It sounds corny to say but the whole family really will enjoy this because there's stuff for kids and adults. With two shows the way we've structured it with two weeks going you can see one show this weekend and one completely different show next weekend."
While they at times felt like they were putting the 'nuts' in Peanuts when snowstorms and Monday's power outage canceled needed rehearsals, McElroy said they all felt like the musicals based on the iconic comic by the late, great Charles Schulz embodies the fun-loving spirit and hard work of the non-profit children's theater.While the Peanuts characters are kids, they often talk about more grown-up situations, a ground-breaking fact that has accounted somewhat for the longevity of the strip that is still in syndication years after Schulz passed away.
"I think Peanuts was the first comic strip that kind of put adult words in little kids' mouths and adult attitudes," McElroy said. "Not completely but when a 5-year-old is talking about neurosis and everything else, well, that is very funny and Charles Schulz laid the ground work for a lot of strips that followed -- Calvin and Hobbes and a lot of other strips. You look at his strips and sometimes they aren't really jokes per se, just funny observations and observational humor has really been a trend among strand-comics and people over the past few years too."
McElroy said they couldn't do this without First Stage's team of dedicated parents and volunteers such as the two show producers, Rebecca Melton Craig and Tracy Meadows, the shows' choreographer, Mary Smirl and musical director, Chris Bowling.
First Stage came up with the idea about a year ago. The production team has been working on it for about six months, and rehearsals started on Jan. 4, with the lead characters in one show taking ensemble roles in the other play.
"It has been hard just from a logistics standpoint getting all the rehearsals organized and all the things lined up," McElroy said, "What has surprised me is how little trouble they've had in remembering the material and picking up the material. The kids in the show are phenomenal."Spring Valley High School sophomore Levi Kelley, who has been in shows since 2004, plays the lead role in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Other actors in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, include: Lucy Van Pelt, Hannah Stevenson; Linus Van Pelt, Justin Hesson; Sally Brown, Meg Riley; Schroeder, Elijah Boyles; Snoopy, Kate Colclough; Woodstock, Rebecca Craig.
Kelley said one of the toughest things about the role is continually reminded himself that he is supposed to be a little kid.
The rehearsals must be working though, maybe too well.
"I am actually saying 'Good Grief' in my actual life," Kelley said laughing. "We're all a little like Charlie Brown in a way so it's not hard to conjure up Chuck."
Huntington High School sophomore Kristin Caviani plays the lead role of Snoopy in Snoopy.
Other featured actors in that show include: Charlie Brown, played by Chad Arthur; Lucy Van Pelt, Meg Barber; Linus Van Pelt, Samuel Collins; Sally Brown, Leslie Collins; Peppermint Patty, Elizabeth Schmitz; and Woodstock, Rileigh Smirl.
Interestingly Smirl, who is only 9, played Woodstock five years ago in a production in Ashland that also starred her mom and dad Tommy and Mary Smirl.
Mary Smirl said these shows are a lot of fun to choreograph since the Peanuts gang is a group of awkward little kids.
"These kids don't move like kids," said Mary Smirl, laughing about ordering the kids to YouTube Peanuts to get a better idea as to how to move like these iconic characters. "The movements are kind of restrictive and choppy and close to the body and kind of over exaggerated."
Blessed with an energetic ensemble of two dozen kids, the musicals bring a lot of energy to the stage.
"The show is just a lot of fun," said Caviani, "I think my favorite part is the big numbers that make it a lot of fun and that really make it lively."
Those big numbers may be a lot of fun, but musical director Chris Bowling said it is not the easiest music to tackle.
"Both of these are beautiful shows," Bowling said. "Snoopy was written in the 1970s and reflects the times stylistically, the newer version of Charlie Brown has a lot more choral music and everything from good classics like 'Moonlight Serenade' to full on gospel and jazz so there is a broad selection of genres."
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