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The light-hearted show directed by Peter Green is a collection of short scenes and songs based on the Peanuts comic strip, originally created by Charles M. Schulz. The musical continues through May 7 at the DAC Weatherstone Studio.
According to Chris Peterson, founder and editor-in-chief of OnStage, “You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown … is receiving an absolutely charming production at the Darien Arts Center.” Additionally he commented, “The cast here is excellent. A small cast of only six, each one perfectly embodies each of these characters.”
He went on to praise the spot-on cast: “As the title character, Matthew Casey is a simply wonderful Charlie Brown,” “Another strong performance is given by Melinda Zupaniotis as Lucy,” “Giving the show a fantastic shot of energy is Billy Schubeck as Schroeder. Mr. Schubeck delivers one of the better vocal performances I've heard in this area this year,”
He called out all the actors. “Additional praise for strong vocals must be given to Jenifer Condon as well. She also shares some fantastic moments with Chris Meindl's Snoopy. Mr. Meindl is a delight to watch as the famous pup, even nailing his iconic laugh at a couple of moments,”and “Finally, Noam Ben Yakir is a picture perfect Linus. Smart yet innocent. He's every bit the blanket hugging future philosopher you would hope for.”
Green received accolades as well, “for a show about connection and love, Mr. Green abandons spectacle and concentrates on relationships and it really works well,” Peterson wrote. Green, who is a performing artist and school social worker, has been performing, directing and teaching theater in Fairfield and Westchester counties since 1996. .
Praise also was lavished on Dwayne Condon, musical director for the production in the OnStage review, “Dwayne Condon's music direction is spot on. Leading a four person pit, the music sounded great with a mix of piano, various and brass instruments, drums and a stand up bass, everything sounded perfect.” Condon also is director of music and fine arts at Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien.
To read the review in its entirety, visit onstageblog.com.
Remaining performances are 8 p.m. Friday and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students at darienarts.org. For more information, call the center at (203) 655-8683. The Weatherstone Studio is at 2 Renshaw Road, behind Darien Town Hall.
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