Footlighters Theatre Company will stage You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, in the round on stage at Prairie Lakes Community Theater, 515 E. Thacker Street in Des Plaines, November 12 to November 21, and December 3 and 4. The family-friendly musical comedy features the music and lyrics of Clark Gesner, based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles Schulz in his comic strip, Peanuts. Directed by Michael McGuire, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown features a funny and talented ensemble of six, including Jose Alfredo Guerro as Linus, Alan Kinsley as Schroeder, Christopher R. McGuire as Charlie Brown, Andy Shaw as Snoopy, Megan Soberski as Lucy and Meghan Warren as Sally.
The action takes place in an average day in the life of six year old Charlie Brown, and his good friends, who struggle through a day of childhood dilemmas including book reports, baseball games, kite flying, and puppy love. The musical is a series of vignettes that uses a combination of monologues and short scenes to set up the individual character’s musical numbers. This collection of moments, from Valentine’s Day to the baseball season, both optimistic and despairing, features memorable songs including My Blanket and Me, The Kite, The Baseball Game, Little Known Facts, Suppertime, Happiness, and the title, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is the first Footlighters Theatre production to be presented in the round on the stage at the Prairie Lakes Theatre. “The small cast and the humor of the play, much of which is derived from the characters facial expressions and reactions to each other, makes Charlie Brown a perfect piece to set this way,” Director Michael McGuire said. “Setting a play in the round is not without its challenges,” he said. “The intimate nature where the lines between the audience and the cast are blurred, means each word spoken and sung and every movement counts. Though none of the cast is actually six years old, their openness, energy, and honesty shine in this setting and will bring out the kid in everyone.”
On Sunday, November 21, Footlighters Theatre Company will offer a special family lunch/show combination package. At noon in the Mountain View rooms, at Prairie Lakes Community Center, The Des Plaines Park District will partner with Giuseppe’s La Cantina Ristorante and Pizzeria for a preshow lunch of chicken, pasta with marinara sauce, salad, breadsticks, pop and coffee, brownies and cookies before the 2:00pm show. Adults, $17, children under five eat for free.
Join the Peanuts gang in this fast paced, lighthearted musical, guaranteed to please audiences of all ages! Tickets are on sale at the Prairie Lakes Box Office. The show begins Friday, November 12 and runs through November 21, and December 3 and 4, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pmm. Tickets are $10. For more information call 847-391-5711 or visit www.desplainesparks.org
