Sarah Wilson, News Writer

“Like a Family”

With a cast of just seven people “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” is “like a family”. Kylie Hur, Junior, said due to the smaller cast, they “got close a lot faster”.

With a smaller cast the rehearsal environment felt different from previous shows. “The rehearsal environment is very fun and relaxed. We all work very hard to do our best, but we also take time to laugh and have fun together”, says Aidan Schneider, who plays the part of Charlie Brown.

Junwoo Kang, added, one thing he noticed is “Ms. Schneider has been much more lenient with line memorisation. The due date for memorising was two weeks ago but still, no one has fully memorised yet. I think it’s because of the trust she has in us that we will be prepared for the show..hopefully”. It has now been a week since Junwoo said he now knows all his lines.

Along with having a smaller cast, the actors have had to adjust to playing children. When asked about some of the difficulties, Aidan said  it has been “really difficult playing a child, as we have to work hard to come across as young and innocent, and not cheesy and annoying”.

 

Show Review

The musical, “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown”, was performed on Friday, October 13 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, October 14 at 4 p.m. There were rave reviews from the audience ranging from “It was cute”, “well presented”, and  “lots of fun”.

The conversations from the audience immediately after were about their favorite performance, many enjoying Linus’ blanket dance, Snoopy’s food, and the Rabbit book report.

Junior Hai Jin Park said “Supper Time”, when asked about the musical. “It was relatable, it sounded like myself, because I enjoy my supper time as much as Snoopy”.

Designer of the posters and print media, Joseph Oh said “the singing gave me warm and fuzzy feelings.”

Joseph began to sing “This thing here, it’s called a fir tree,” as he described his favorite performance. This was the scene where Lucy, played by June Lee was educating her brother about the world in a rather mixed up manner.

The musical was a “contagious” performance of “fun filled music, good times, and laughter for the entire family”, said Mrs. Kim Lozano. 

She continued, Mr. Lozano literally walked in the door of our apartment on Saturday singing  “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”.

Meet the Characters

Charlie Brown, played by Aidan Schneider:

Charlie Brown is the main character in the show. “He is a kid who is not particularly great at anything, but will never stop trying to be great”, said Aidan.

Aidan said he found this character challenging to take on as ”most of the characters I play are super lighthearted and funny, and this is one of the first times I’ve played a character outside of my wheelhouse”.

 

 

Snoopy, played by Kylie Hur:

When asked to describe her character, Kylie Hur,, said “I am a lazy dog and sometimes the most exciting dog. I do talk, but no one but the audience can really hear me. I would say that supper time is the best time of day for me”.

She added that just like the rest of the cast who are playing children, she is acting as something new to her, being a dog.

Schroeder, played by Junwoo Kang:

Junwoo describes his character as “a five year old musical prodigy. He is really obsessed with this composer called Beethoven. He sings about him and Lucy (another character in the musical) has a crush on Schroder but he refuses her love because Beethoven remained his bachelor throughout his life so he wants to become and live like Beethoven, which is why his only focus is on music. Schroeder is a really funny and obsessive character”.

Junwoo commented on playing children, he has really enjoyed it as there aren’t many “boundaries”.

“When I did Snow White, there were so many things you couldn’t do. As a prince, you know, I can’t bow in front of people or be too loud. But as children, there aren’t so many limitations. You can just freely run around and yell and roll around and it makes it a lot more joyful”.

Woodstock, played by Sarah Kim:

Sarah  explained that she plays “a role that is really bright and friendly. Throughout the scenes, she will be always smiling and be really energetic”.

A challenge Sarah faced playing this role was being able to find “my character.”

“There wasn’t really particular character that was chosen for me to play so I had to try new things and see what worked best”.

Linus van Pelt, played by Vaughn Schneider:

Linus the younger brother of Lucy, is shy, quiet, reserved, and loves his blanket. He never goes anywhere without his blanket because it is so special to him. While he is mild mannered, he can become rather aggressive if someone takes his blanket, specifically his sister Lucy, who often teases him.

Lucy van Pelt, played by June Lee:

Lucy is the big sister of Linus who thinks she knows everything about everything. She absolutely adores Schroeder, though he does not reciprocate those feelings. Lucy is strong willed and not always the kindest or most caring of the characters, but she cares about her friends deeply.

 

Sally Brown, played by Jaime Suh:

Sally Brown is known to be Charlie Brown’s little sister. “She is about three or four, probably younger than any other characters in the play. She is in love with Linus and very energetic in this show: loves to jump rope, rabbit chase, and run around. All throughout the show she gets bad scores on her homework, and she complains about it freely to teachers. She loves to create a new philosophy everywhere she goes, and loves copying how Schroeder talks. I would describe Sally as someone who expresses herself very well”.