'You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown' - My Review

The Nine Mile Players set out to produce a family-friendly show that could be enjoyed children and more than just tolerated by their grownups. They succeeded with their colorful and joyous production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown at the Oxford Center School this weekend.

The production team transformed the smallish stage into a scene worthy of the classic Peanuts cartoon, complete with a purple piano for Shroeder to play, a doghouse large enough to hold the actor playing Snoopy (Bobby Morrison), and many oversized props. The fine lighting helped the transformation and followed the actors effectively when they left the stage to use the space in front of the pit or to play catch with audience members. The completely perfect costumes, by Christina and Cheryl Kalafut, fit each of the iconic characters to a tee; the members of the "Peanut Gallery" wore brightly colored tees.

From the first note of the title song, the four piece band under the direction of Caroline Strange sounded great. Musical Director/pianist Alex Saraceno played Beethoven and the Peanuts theme song equally well and Ms. Strange played the occasional auxiliary percussion. The catchy songs were placed between little vignettes that kept the audience smiling.

Under the able direction of Christina Kalafut, this multi-racial, multi-aged cast did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life. Kerey Viswanathan in the title role (and his first theatre appearance) had a strong voice and captured the spirit of Charlie Brown. Wendy Scola (Footloose) was the appropriately bossy Lucy Van Pelt.

Amanda Friedman as  Sally was just adorable; this lady is a great physical actress. Oxford HS sophomore Tyler Panek as Linus Van Pelt was seldom without his baby blue blanket and he mastered the wisdom of his character's lines. Mr. Panek recently was awarded the Halo Award for Best Comic Male Performance in a Musical.

David Oramas played Schroeder and was very impressive in his stage debut. The Peanuts Gallery included Tony Benedetti (a member of the Naugatuck Community Choir) as Pigpen, Shari Braccia as Violet, Victoria Constantino as Charlotte, Oxford HS junior Adrianna Veltri as Peppermint Patty (remember her?) Kathleen Kelly as Marcie, Shannon Riccio and fourth grader Stephanie O’Connell as an adorable Woodstock. Mr. Morrison was very funny as Snoopy, especially as the Flying Ace, complete with the red scarf.