By Katrin Faith Flores
From newspaper ink to the real world, a cast of colorful characters bounces onto the stage this week in the off-broadway classic You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Performing on November 15th-16th at 7:00 PM and November 17th at 2:30 PM, the LHS Thespians treat the school to a musical adaptation of the beloved Peanuts comics. With $10 for adults and $5 for students and children, audiences can laugh at the antics of headstrong Lucy, serious Schroeder, thoughtful Linus, and, of course, everyman Charlie Brown.
Ever since the 1950s, the Peanuts comic strips have entertained adults and kids alike with its dry humor and short-but-snappy panels. It is only natural, then, that the premiered 1967 musical retained that charm, delighting people for decades. In it, Charlie Brown contends with his apparent mediocrity, even in one of his songs singing, “Oh, how can there possibly be one small person as thoroughly, totally, utterly blah as me?”
Full of jokes and wacky shenanigans, an audience member might be surprised about how a child’s simple perspective can still be relatable.
“This whole show I’ve been really surprised about how we’ve really been staying ahead of schedule,” said newly hired director Alaura Howery, “We started in the beginning of September with learning the music…. It was sticking, they were doing it, they were feeling comfortable; They have continued to surprise me through this whole process.”
Theater is a lifelong passion for Howery. From her father directing multiple productions growing up to directing the recent Willy Wonka musical herself at Seward County Community College, she regards the activity as an outlet for humanity’s intrinsic instinct to tell stories.
“It has been a very tall learning curve,” she said regarding her adaptation to LHS, “but one I am very willing to learn in order to achieve, well, my dream job.”
As a fresh director, Howery contends with integrating herself into an unfamiliar environment alongside overseeing every creative choice that the production demands. Every single little decision needs to be approved by the director first, which can be hard for a person with executive dysfunction like Howery. However, she notes, having a person like producer Mrs. Climenhaga helps check and fill in any gaps left behind.
Regardless, Howery loves her job — both as a director and a teacher.
Students often come visit her room during PLT to talk about their day and any problems they might be fighting. She’s able to listen, think, and give them the tools to help themselves. Theater also instills a sense of responsibility and discipline in students, which are skills they’ll utilize once they venture into life after high school.
“It’s what I wanted when I was in high school,” she said, “to be that safe space. Doing all of that, and seeing them succeed in a way they didn’t think; you can’t replace it.”
Alongside Howery, a multitude of other people contributed to shaping the musical into the dazzling product it is today. There’s musical director Timothy Smith sculpting the whimsical tune of the songs, choreographer Nikki Frydendall creating and coaching springy dance steps, and, of course, every single member of both the cast and backstage crew.
“I joined Drama because I wanted to be in the musical, I like musicals, and I wanted to sing,” said president of LHS Thespians Layla Crotinger, “I was not planning on doing any of the plays or anything because I didn’t think I would be that good of an actor — but, well, we all saw how that turned out.”
In the musical, Crotinger plays the spirited Sally Brown, whose problems range from jump roping to the futility of life. As president, Crotinger is in charge of joining the LHS Thespians together and planning certain important decisions and events. With any group of different grades and backgrounds, it is a herculean task to match up everybody’s schedule for rehearsal. Hundreds of hours are poured into reading lines, making props, and working out every kink along the way. In the days leading up to production, performers spend hours before rehearsal putting on their makeup and costumes.
“It’s been kinda rocky,” she said in regards to the production, “We don’t have a choir conductor here at the high school anymore, so Mr. Smith from Eisenhower had been teaching us the music after school. We also didn’t have an orchestra pit, so we had to get used to singing with recordings.”
When it comes to the actual performance though, all those trials and tribulations are worth it to Crotinger. Outside of the show itself, her favorite memories in theater are of interacting with other cast members. The connections with people of all grades she’s cultivated over the years being something she truly cherishes.
“Drama really taught me how to interact with people whether I like them or I don’t like them,” she said, “The musical has to be a team for it to really work out.”
In the future, Crotinger aims to get a theater degree and pursue acting.
On the flipside, even though he now plans to get involved until his senior year, Vice President Gerson Alaniz never thought he would ever be involved in something related to this before high school.
“I do remember when I was a kid, I went to see the high school’s Once Upon A Mattress,” he reminisced, “then I asked my old friend Matthew, who was a senior last year, and he was like, ‘So you want to learn about the musical?!’”
From there, Alaniz fell in love with it — the dancing, the singing. He thought he’d do nothing in high school, maybe a couple of sports, but ever since he joined Drama, it has been a staple of his high school career.
“Being a part of Drama is like a family,” he said, “When you’re in drama, you can actually act like yourself. You have more freedom.”
As vice president, Alaniz supports Crotinger and brainstorms with other members of the club about different ideas that could be implemented during production. On stage, he plays pianist genius Schroeder, who considers himself more mature than the rest of the characters while extolling the virtues of Beethoven. At the upcoming musical, Alaniz is excited to show all the hard work that members have put into the production— proving that a large cast isn’t necessary to make a strong exhibition.
Whether it be from a popular meme or the iconic Snoopy, the Peanuts comics are a firm cornerstone of pop culture. Iterations upon iterations of adaptations have been made from it, and still yet, theater provides a unique aspect of intimacy from the proximity the audience sits to the story. In the LHS Thespians’ interpretation of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, all members have poured their soul into only four two-hour lightning-in-a-bottle performances. From November 15-17th, anyone from anywhere in the community can come support that effort.
To any student considering joining any of the theatrical productions this year or the next, Hugo Sanchez, joining the Thespians for the first time as a part of the chorus, has something to say:
“I feel like there’s a stigma to being a part of theater in general. But, after a few weeks, I was like, oh, I’ve had fun,” he said, “To anyone who’s thinking of doing it, I’d say do it — you get new experiences and you get to meet new people. Don’t be scared of what people think of you, and how they perceive you because you only live once.”
