HOULTON, Maine — If there is one thing that people can count on year after year, it is that Houlton High School students will deliver an exceptional performance in their annual fall musical.
Such was the case again this year as the stage of the Houlton Community Arts Center transformed into the world of Snoopy, Linus, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts cast for the production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
Four performances were held, including a Saturday afternoon matinee that featured an opportunity for young children to meet members of the cast in costume.
Based on the Charles M. Shulz characters from the comic strip “Peanuts,” the production was a musical comedy written in 1967 by Clark Gesner, a native of Augusta.
John Thatcher had the lead role of “Charlie Brown” and delivered a performance that captured the essence of Schulz’ primary character. Victoria Holmes and Sierra Rhoda were by far the biggest scene stealers as they played the characters of “Snoopy” and “Sally” respectively.
Other cast members included Mia Findlater (Violet), Dylan Johnston (Linus), Keaton Michael (Woodstock), Theresa Ouellette (Frieda), Kelsey Sewell (Schroeder), Jonathan Smith (Pigpen), Tessa Solomon (Lucy) and Kyliegh Tyler (Peggy Jean).
“A talented group of students took on every aspect of producing a fine piece of art, known to audiences for the last 50 years as ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,’” said Jason Anderson, vocal music educator at the high school. “ I’m enormously proud of high-quality product the kids produced, with help from my colleagues Pam Chernesky and Kevin Mania.”
The annual plays are a major accomplishment for the music department at the school, but are not without considerable work.
“The production season is grueling at times – usually 90 minutes of rehearsal three times each week, plus added choreography rehearsals, not to mention production week itself which consists of roughly 20 hours of work over the course of seven days,” Anderson said. “Producing a show takes the talents of many to bring the theatrical world of the ‘Peanuts’ to life, and it couldn’t have been done without the expert choreography of Sandy Hartley (Houlton School of Dance and Studio One in Millinocket), the colorful sets of Heather Bell (Maiden Maine), and the construction of Snoopy’s iconic dog house by Houlton High School Industrial Arts educator Fred Pelletier and his students.”
One of the highlights of the run was the Saturday matinee, in which nearly 80 children under the age of 8 were able to create crafts and have Peanuts-related snacks before the show, enjoying a special performance, and finally being invited on-stage to meet the characters at the end of the show.
“For many of these young kids, this experience is one that will stick with them for a long time,” Anderson said. “All in all, I’m always proud of the performance level that my students are capable of achieving. Their blood, sweat and tears went into creating characters that were larger than life. I’ll never complain about their lack of dedication to becoming great performers.”
