Melbourne Musical’s inaugural production, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, masterfully walks the fine line between childish and childlike to create a deceptively complex, yet charming piece of theatre.
You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, is a musical about a day in the life of renowned comic strip character, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang. More than just a bunch of adults playing kids, Charlie Brown is an adult investigation of a child’s wide-eyed view of the world. The kinds of challenges faced by the children in this show are not so different than the ones we face as adults, including finding acceptance, experiencing disillusionment and dealing with self-doubt.
Director, Bryce Ives, along with Associate Director, James Cook make a formidable team, crafting a production that puts the audience in touch with their inner child. I won’t spoil the magic for those of you who are yet to see the production, however expect to be transported from the moment you enter the foyer!
Almost everyone is familiar with the strong personalities of the Peanuts characters creating an extra challenge for both the directors and the actors that portray them. While the characterisations were a little slow coming through, I think this was mostly to do with the structure of the production. The comic strip style series of short scenes and monologues gave the actors little opportunity to develop their characters. However by the second act these reservations were gone and I was completely enamoured with all of the characters, even the exceptionally “crabby” Lucy.
James Cutler was adorable as Charlie Brown, alternately despairing and hopeful and wonderfully understated in a character that is easy to overplay. At the opposite end of that scale was Emma Caldwell who’s Lucy was overplayed to great effect. Suffering from a terrible case of “princess syndrome” she flits between simmering anger disguised behind a saccharin smile to full-blown violent out-bursts.
After playing a child in CLOC’s Blood Brothers last year, Laura Burzacott was well rehearsed to play the delightful Sally. Laura was probably the most convincing child in the cast, with her wide-eyed look and seemingly spontaneous performance. Her rendition of my favourite song from the show “My New Philosophy” did not disappoint.
Matt Perfect and Richard Hughes gave strong and convincing performances as Linus and Schroeder. While they didn’t exhibit the same level of stage presence as the other actors, they hopefully will have been observing the others and develop this further throughout the run.
Darryn Gatt captured Snoopy’s dry wit and loveable charm, delivering some of the shows funniest moments. One of the highlights of the show for me was Darryn’s showmanship in the musical number “Suppertime”. I was aware that Darren had a stunning voice, but was pleasantly surprised to see that he can also dance up a storm. This triumph however should be shared with Choreographer Jessica Barlow. Her Choreography was tight, snappy and seamlessly integrated into the action of the show – some of the best chore I have seen!
Being somewhat of a costume connoisseur, I was pleased to see designer Shana Nerenberg had been very true to the Peanuts cartoon. The costumes however seemed poorly fitted. While the intention may have been to make the characters appear smaller and more child-like, I think this was conveyed in other ways and the show would not have been any less effective with well-fitted costumes.
The band led by the scarily talented Music Director, Adrian Portell was tight and well-balanced. Adrian ably conducted the performers from off-stage with no evidence of the time lag which can sometimes happen when conducting via a monitor.
Melbourne Musicals should be commended for producing such a slick and professional production with their first attempt. I can’t wait to see what the company has in store for us next!
Emmalee’s passion for musical theatre developed in Warrnambool where she was in 18 productions before her 21st birthday. After moving to Perth to complete an Arts Management degree at WAPPA, she performed in Les Miserables and the King and I at the Regent Theatre. Since moving to Melbourne in 2005, Emmalee performed in a concert production of Ragtime with Monash University Choral Society, played the Bakers Wife in Into the Woods (MD Productions), played Maria in The Sound of Music (Altona City Theatre), went incognito as a pit singer in Cats (CLOC), played Frauline Kost in Cabaret (ARC) and was in the Producers with Whitehorse Musical Theatre.
