Charles City High School presents ‘Charlie Brown’ Thursday through Sunday

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The curtain will rise this week on the Charles City High School Drama Department’s performance of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” at the Charles Theatre.

Traditionally, the school’s theater performances would be put on at the North Grand Auditorium, but that is no longer an option as the building has now been sold and will be developed into apartments. With the former middle school auditorium no longer an option for the district, this year’s fall play is instead being performed at the Charles Theatre downtown.

“The movie theater manager, Karen Youngerman, has just been absolutely fantastic to work with,” said musical director Derek Sturtevant. “We appreciate them and their willingness to be in there.”

Working in a different venue has forced some changes in this year’s performances. Alongside challenges in scheduling rehearsals around the theater’s regular movie schedule, the smaller venue also impacted what kind of play was selected. “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,” was chosen for its smaller cast and reduced set requirements.

“We chose a show that would be a little more flexible,” said Sturtevant.

To balance out the smaller show while still making sure as many students as possible get a chance to perform, this fall’s play has been double-cast, with some of the main characters being played by different actors depending on the night of the performance.

“That way we could get more kids involved in the show without needing more stage space,” said Sturtevant.

Cast 1 will feature Harper McInroy as Lucy and Breyer Ellison as Linus, alongside an ensemble of DeShawn Griffin, Lilie Mohring, Jenna Aikey, Ellie Gassman, and Sydney Hinz. They will debut the stage play at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, with a matinee performance at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5.

For the Cast 2 shows, Teagan Prigge will perform as Lucy alongside Blake Hoeft as Linus with an ensemble cast of Gracie Opp, Sydney Otto, Savannah Baldus, Elise White, and Andrew White. Their performances will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, and 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6.

Tickets for the four showings can be purchased in advance online at cchsdrama.ludus.com/index.php or at the door if still available.

Anders Haglund will play the titular Charlie Brown in all four performances, alongside Sophia Jensen as Sally, Jacob Diers as Schroeder, and Kaity Heckers as Snoopy.

Stage director is Michelle Grob, with Sturtevant as musical director and Erika Joiner as assistant director.

The crew consists of stage manager Hannah DeVore, apprentice stage manager Addison Tracey, assistant stage manager Kirah Vickerman, props manager Jadince Schuttler, backstage Natalie Keyes and Addison Tracey, lights Katie Prichard, sound Zadie Pittman, choreographer Amy Wolfe, costumes Linda Hughes, makeup Lynn Bauer, and set design and construction Elissa Ellis with Kirah Vickerman, Caden Baker, Jadince Schuttler, Aiden Linde, Kali Jones, Keyrra Flowers and Ella Jones.