It seems everyone knows who Charlie Brown is. Generations now have grown up with the Peanuts characters, whether through their holiday specials, their catchy “Linus and Lucy” theme song, or most recently the 2015 The Peanuts Movie.
This year, the middle school took on performing the Peanuts musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
When deciding which musical to choose, middle school theater teacher and director Ms. Jennifer Hallman went with what would bring the most joy to the audience.
“It’s so fun and lighthearted,” Ms. Hallman said. “Everyone can relate to the Peanuts characters, you just kind of live life through these characters, and there are so many of them, so you can feature that many more kids.”
While the process of putting this show together was stressful, it came together just as Ms. Hallman and the rest of the cast and crew anticipated.
“The best part of the process is always show week, because, even as intense as it is, seeing each of the kids really come into their own character is so amazing because you work so hard to teach them what they’re so supposed to do,” Ms. Hallman said. “When they’re really feeling it, that’s the best part of the whole thing.”
“There’s no real cohesive plot to the musical, so the kids really have to tune in and pay attention to what’s happening, and it creates these really beautiful moments in the wings of kids watching.”
Ms. Jennifer Hallman
The show consists of many scenes and songs compiled together rather than a single storyline, which Ms. Hallman thinks helped her students become more involved in the show.
“There’s no real cohesive plot to the musical, so the kids really have to tune in and pay attention to what’s happening, and it creates these really beautiful moments in the wings of kids watching. It creates these really lovely friendships because they’re supporting each other, and each night they got closer and closer,” Ms. Hallman said.
Many upper school students, although in the midst of their own musical’s rehearsals, also showed out to support the middle school show.
Sixth Former Sebastian Golderer went to see the show and had a great time.
“What I loved most was the collaboration between each and every member of the cast. The performances of the leads were all wonderful, particularly for middle schoolers,” Golderer said, “but what was perhaps even more pleasing to witness was the effortlessness with which the show’s numerous constituent players worked together.”
Fifth Former Aaron Bonaparte also noticed the top-notch performances from many of the lead actors.
“The middle schooler Bryce, who played Schroeder, did an incredible job in his song ‘Beethoven Day,’” Bonaparte said. “Also Angie, who played Lucy, has consistently done amazing in middle school shows. Two years ago she did an amazing Wednesday in Addams Family, last year she was incredible as Fiona in Shrek, and this year she absolutely killed it as Lucy.”
Having so many high schoolers attend the middle school show means a lot to Ms. Hallman, as well as to her students.
“It was really beautiful to see so many high schoolers in the audience,” Ms. Hallman said. “To have that connection is really beautiful, and it just supports the community and ideology of the brotherhood that we want our students to have. We see it a lot in sports, as people are there and cheering and invested in the game, so when you attend a show, it just fuels the love and pride they have for what they do.”
