The Bickford Theatre revisits the updated 1999 Broadway version of this play, based on the comic strip by Charles Schultz.
By: Stuart Duncan
On the evening of March 7, 1967, the legendary critic Walter Kerr did something he had never done before and apparently never did again he deliberately delayed writing his review so that he could go backstage to congratulate the cast before heading uptown to his desk at The New York Herald Tribune.
The small off-Broadway site was Theatre 80 St. Marks, and the show was You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. When the review appeared two days later, it was a love letter to the cast and the show’s creators, cartoonist Charles Schultz, writer and composer Clark Gesner and producer Arthur Whitelaw. The show ran 1,597 performances.
The Bickford Theatre in Morristown seems a perfect spot for a revival, not of the 1967 original but an updated 1999 Broadway version, with two numbers added, a couple of scenes trimmed, others rewritten and the arrangements zapped a little all with the show’s original creators blessing. The Bickford is attached to the Morris Museum, and theatergoers are free to wander through the exhibits before the show and during intermission.
The challenge of a revival is what made the original so appealing. It is whimsical rather than profound; the tunes are charming, not memorable. But the production at the Bickford is so much on the mark that you may be guaranteed that at the end of the two hours, when the cast of six gently utters the simple words of "Happiness," you will be grinning despite the threat of tears in your eyes.
Credit director Eric Hafen with selecting a wonderful cast that includes Gerard Lebeda, Rusty Reynolds, Ashley Hughson, Stephanie Carr, Jamal Sawab and Julian Brightman. He stages the evening with great taste, allowing each his or her shining moment, helped by choreographer Laurie Piro, but treating the ensemble numbers with particular cleverness. Of course Snoopy (Brightman) has his moment with his suppertime bowl; naturally Linus (Lebada) sings about his blanket; certainly Schroeder (Sawab) plays Beethoven on his piano; and Lucy (Carr) admires him outrageously. Charlie Brown (Reynolds) tries to fly his kite and longingly looks at the little redheaded girl in the classroom. Sally (Hughson) finds a philosophy she can master. But it is in the ensemble tunes that this company finds its most meaningful moments. A four-piece orchestra, led by musical director Warren Helms from the keyboards, includes Eric Borghi, Jason DePope and Carl Sabatino.
Incidentally, Clark Gesner cut his theatrical teeth while at Princeton University in the Triangle Club, and later worked with Leonard Stillman and Julius Monk doing their famous revues in New York during the ’60s and ’70s. He also worked on Captain Kangaroo and Sesame Street for TV. He died in the summer of 2004 at the age of 64.
You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown continues at the Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, through Dec. 11. Performances: Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. No performance Nov. 24. Tickets cost $30, $25 seniors/Morris Museum members, $15 students. For information, call (973) 971-3706. On the Web: www.morrismuseum.org

