Play's as good as 'Charlie' himself
June 13, 2008 · Updated 3:52 PM
Mirror staff
In 1998, the authors and producers of the 1966 musical, Youre a Good Man, Charlie Brown, decided on a major revival of the work in a Broadway theater in New York City.
Much of the original production was retained. But, as displayed in Centerstage Theatres Northwest premiere last Friday in Federal Way of the reworked classic, there are new twists.
Still drawing from the famed Peanuts cartoon strip of the late Charles Schulz, of course, the cast of six characters now includes Sally Brown (replacing Patty). Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder and Snoopy remain.
Also, two new songs, including My New Philosophy (a fun romp highlighting Taralynn Thompson as Sally in the Centerstage show) have been added; a pantomime rabbit chase involving Snoopy (the scene-stealing Eric Stevens) has a new musical score; and dialogue has been reworked.
The result is a delight, as performed by Centerstage at Knutzen Family Theater through May 9 at 8 p.m. (Advance tickets and information: 661-1444 or www.centerstagetheatre.com).
Along with Thompson and Stevens, the adult cast acting like kids is headed by Random Harrison as Charlie Brown. Anne Eisendrath is Lucy, Tim Tate is Linus and Kyle Baiz is Schroeder. All are solid under the direction of Dannul Dailey, and their pianist/accompanist, Dawn Clement, is outstanding.
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