Review: YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN at ARTS Theatre

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Wednesday 1st July 2026.

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown is based on the popular Peanuts comic strip, drawn by Charles M. Schulz, that ran from October 2, 1950 to February 13, 2000. It began as an earlier strip titled Li’l Folks that ran from June 22, 1947 to January 22, 1950.

The musical, directed and with set design by Ryan Ricci, with musical direction by Danielle Greaves, and choreography by Lucy Newman for the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, was created in 1967 and then revised in 1999, with Charlie Brown’s little sister, Sally, replacing the character, Patty, from the first version. This earlier Patty was not the character, Peppermint Patty, who was a later addition to the strip, along with her friend, Marcie. The book, music, and lyrics are by Clark Gesner, with additional dialogue by Michael Mayer, and additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa.

The set has a large screen at the rear on which locations are projected, with solid pieces, such as Snoopy’s dog house and Schroeder’s piano, carried or wheeled on and off as needed, and each character has their own small box, decorated to align with their costume.

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown is a series of sketches based on familiar themes from the cartoons, rather than an ongoing narrative, and involves only six of the characters from the strip. The crabby and bossy Lucy hassles Schroeder about marriage, berates Charlie Brown, and runs her psychiatric advice stall, in his imagination, Snoopy flies his WWI biplane against the Red Baron, Charlie Brown fails to fly a kite, or win a baseball game, or overcome shyness to speak to the little red-haired girl, Schroeder focuses on his music, and the opinionated Sally embarrasses her ‘sweet babboo’, the security blanket carrying Linus, who is the real philosopher in the group. They are, in effect, stock characters, a concept familiar to those who understand Commedia dell’Arte.

The central character, Charlie Brown, is played by Lindsay Prodea, his little sister, Sally, by Liliana Carletti, and his beagle, Snoopy, by Brady Lloyd. Lucy van Pelt and her younger brother Linus are played by Claire McEvoy and Nick Centofanti, and Michael Butler plays the Beethoven-obsessed pianist, Schroeder.

Prodea embodies the hapless Charlie Brown, perpetually worried, overwhelmed by the world, continually failing, yet still projecting that ray of hope, that rugged optimism in the face of adversity. It is a difficult role to play as everything seems to happen to and around the character, leaving him to react, rather than initiate action. Prodea negotiates that complexity superbly.

Lucy is usually the character that adds to Charlie’s insecurities, at one point describing his as a ‘failure face’, pointing out salient details in his visage that indicate his faults. McEvoy’s portrayal neatly combines just the right amounts of crabbiness, belligerence, and comedy.

Butler’s Schroeder is exactly what one would expect from the dedicated musician, his single-mindedness helping him to ignore Lucy’s advances. I recall, at a very early age, also having a one-octave toy piano, with the black keys painted on. Ah, memories.

Centofanti brings us the thumb-sucking blanket-hugging Linus, nicely naïve while Lucy talks nonsense as she delivers her little known facts, and generating laughs with his dance routine with his blanket.

Carletti is well-cast as Sally, petulant at a poor mark for her wire coat hanger sculpture, and coming up with a series of shallow ‘philosophies’: “Why me?", "Who cares?", and "How should I know?", a running joke in the series.

Lloyd gets to play what is, arguably, the best role; Charlie’s beagle, Snoopy. Snoopy is an anthropomorphic character and, to all intents and purposes, is just another of the children. Like Calvin’s tiger, Hobbes, he appears in two forms, as a dog to the children and as another, very imaginative child to the reader. Snoopy, literally, makes a song and dance about the late arrival of his dinner, and who doesn’t like a tap routine, with the rest of the cast crossing upstage with a grapevine step. Lloyd also has fun as the pilot of a Sopwith Camel, being chased by a Fokker triplane.

Importantly, though, is that this is an ensemble piece, and relies heavily on the interactions between six characters, growing out of their individual performances. This is a strong ensemble, with the Peanuts characters clearly defined, and the cast having as much fun as the audience.

The longevity of this musical, though, is not so much a reflection of the quality of the work itself, the music is instantly forgettable, but of the enduring love that readers have for the comic strip and its characters. The dialogue and lyrics are straight out of the comic strips, and the characters and situations are immediately recognisable. It’s ongoing success is due more to Charles M. Schulz than to Gesner, Mayer, and Lippa.

There were a few technical glitches, with faces occasionally left in shadow, and several late microphones that, hopefully, will be quickly corrected.

Laughter and applause was generous throughout, and very loud at the final bows from an audience that clearly loved the Peanuts comic strip and enjoyed seeing the popular characters brought to life onstage. You have until next weekend to catch this light-hearted offering.

Photography, Pro Shots.

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