You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Image: BQFF's Troy Armstrong
Everyone knows the Peanuts comic strip, and plenty saw the movie – but like many, Sheridan Harbridge knew little of the 1967 musical. So landing the role of Lucy in Hayes Theatre’s production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown has been a dream come true.
“She is such a battle-axe,” Harbridge told City Hub during a break in the tech-run. “It is so much fun playing her – she is actually a disgraceful human. There is a lot of yelling, finger pointing and punching – I’m enjoying it.”
Inspired by the minimalist approach of Charles Schultz, Clark Gesner wrote the musical based on the beats of the three-frame comic strip. Taking just five characters, he’s distilled them into short vignettes, using the innocence of children to tackle adult concepts.
Lucy’s character is used to unpick the complications of men understanding women. So when she gets a ‘95’ on the crabbiness survey, Lucy is devastated and tells Linus that she shouldn’t be on the planet. He replies, “There is a reason [you should be on the planet]. It’s because I’m your little brother and I love you”. Instead of this ending her crabbiness, in the next scene she’s punching him and trying to get her pencils back.
Self-doubting throughout, Charlie Brown wonders whether he is an effective human being and ironically, it’s Lucy who provides the pinnacle line. “There’s a beautiful last moment of the show where Lucy shakes his hand and says, ‘You’re a good man, Charlie Brown’. She is a villain who gets in everyone’s way, but she has the insight to know what he needs to hear. It is a really beautiful moment,” said Harbridge.
This production is not just for kids, but for everyone to remember how it used to be and how it can be. (GW)
Jul 5–31, various show times. Hayes Theatre, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point. $45-$55. Tickets & info: hayestheatre.com.au or 02 8065 7337.
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