Tony Tuesday: YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN

This week’s Tony Tuesday is You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, a 1967 musical with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and (for the 1999 Broadway revival) Andrew Lippa. It is based on characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip Peanuts. 

The musical follows Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy, and his friends and family as they go about their daily lives, struggling with homework, crushes, emotions and friendship. It’s made up of a series of vignettes, similar in tone and style to the original Peanuts comics, and has a real warmth and charm to it.

During the early 1960s, Clark Gesner had begun to write songs based on Schulz’s Peanuts characters, but was unable to get permission from the United Features Syndicate to use the characters in his songs. Eventually he sent Schulz a demo recording of some of the songs, which quickly led to him gaining permission to properly record them, which he did in 1966. Orson Bean sang the role of Charlie Brown, Gesner sang Linus, Barbara Minkus sang Lucy, and Bill Hinnant sang Snoopy (he reprised this role in the Off-Broadway production).

At this point, Gesner had no plans to turn this pre-production concept album into a musical. However, producer Arthur Whitelaw, who later went on to write Snoopy! The Musical, encouraged Gesner to turn it into a stage musical. The stage adaptation, titled You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, went into rehearsal in New York City on 10 February 1967. Prior to its opening, the musical had no libretto – it was several vignettes with a musical number for each one. 

John Gordon was credited with the book of the show but according to Gesner’s foreword in the published script, this is actually a collective pseudonym that covers Gesner, the cast, and the production staff, all of whom worked together to assemble the script.

On 7 March 1967, the musical premiered Off-Broadway at Theatre 80 in the East Village, featuring Gary Burghoff as Charlie Brown, Skip Hinnant as Schroeder, Reva Rose as Lucy, Bob Balaban as Linus, Karen Johnson as Patty, and Bill Hinnant as Snoopy. The production was directed by Joseph Hardy and choreographed by Patricia Birch (who was billed as '“Assistant to the Director”). Joe Raposo was Musical Director and composer of incidental music for the show. This production played 1,597 performances, closing on 14 February 1971.

The Off-Broadway cast recording, originally released on MGM Records, was later remastered by Decca Broadway/Universal Classics and re-released on 31 September 31 2000. A 1970 U.S. tour lasted 202 performances on the road.

The Broadway production opened at the John Golden Theatre on 1 June 1971 and closed on 27 June 1971, after only 32 performances and 15 previews. Featuring the same director and choreographer as the Off-Broadway production, the new cast featured Carter Cole as Schroeder, Grant Cowan as Snoopy, Stephen Fenning as Linus, Liz O’Neal as Lucy, Dean Stolber as Charlie Brown, and Lee Wilson as Patty.

The musical opened in London’s West End on 1 February 1968, produced by Harold Fielding and Bernard Delfont, and directed by Joseph Hardy. It played at the Fortune Theatre for 116 performances, closing on 11 May 1968.

In November 1998, a U.S. tour began in Illinois. The tour was expected to become a full-scale revival to open at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway, but ended up moving to the Ambassador Theatre after Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk closed. After the tour ended in January 1999, the revival opened on 4 February 1999 and closed on 13 June 1999, having played 14 previews and 149 performances. This revival, arguably the most well-known version of the show, featured new dialogue by Michael Mayer, who also directed, and additional songs and orchestrations by Andrew Lippa; choreography was by Jerry Mitchell and sets by David Gallo, Mayer’s frequent collaborator.

In this revival, the character of Patty was replaced by Sally Brown, inspired by the same change Schulz made in the animated TV adaptation. The cast was made up of Broadway legends, with Anthony Rapp as Charlie Brown, B.D. Wong as Linus, Ilana Levine as Lucy, Stanley Wayne Mathis as Schroeder, Kristin Chenoweth as Sally and Roger Bart as Snoopy, with the latter two each winning the Tony award for Best Featured Actress and Actor respectively. The original Broadway revival recording was released by RCA Victor/BMG on 9 March 1999.

The musical was revived one more time at the Off-Broadway York Theatre Company in 2016. This revival featured young actors from Broadway productions, including Joshua Colley as Charlie Brown and Milly Shapiro as Sally. This production ran from 24 May to 26 June 2016.

The original off-Broadway production was well received, with praise for the simplicity and effortlessness of the piece. However, the 1999 revival was less popular – many reviewers found the grandness and scale of the new production went against the show’s inherent simplicity. Despite this, the cast, particularly Chenoweth and Bart, were highly praised. 

Both the original cast recording and that of the 1999 revival are readily available on streaming services, Besties, so have a listen and enjoy! 

FACTS:

Music and Lyrics: Clark Gesner and Andrew Lippa (1999 production)

Book: John Gordon

Theatre: John Golden Theatre

Run: 1 June, 1971 – 27 June 1971 (32 performances and 15 previews)

TONYS:

(1999 Broadway Revival) WON Best Featured Actor in a Musical – Roger Bart, Best Featured Actress in a Musical – Kristin Chenoweth

NOMINATED Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical – Michael Mayer 

DRAMA DESK AWARDS:

(1967 Off-Broadway) WON Best Performer – Bill Hinnant, Outstanding Director of a Musical – Joseph Hardy

(1999 Broadway Revival) WON Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical – Roger Bart, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical – Kristin Chenoweth

NOMINATED Outstanding Director of a Musical – Michael Mayer, Outstanding Set Design – David Gallo

GRAMMY AWARDS:

(1967 Off-Broadway) NOMINATED Best Musical Show Album

(1999 Broadway Revival) NOMINATED Best Musical Show Album 

Watch the cast of the 1999 Broadway Revival perform “My New Philosophy” and “Happiness” at the 1999 Tony Awards: