‘Good Man, Charlie Brown’ at Church of Christ; 4 shows
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The Palace Players cast members, from left, Julia Heaton as Sally, Hannah Campbell as Lucy, Noah Standifer as Charlie Brown, Hayden Toon as Linus, Eli Solomon as Schroeder and Remington Stavros as Snoopy, will be swinging in the Players’ production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” - Photos submitted
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The Palace Players cast members, Julia Heaton as Sally, Hannah Campbell as Lucy, Noah Standifer as Charlie Brown, Hayden Toon as Linus, Eli Solomon as Schroeder and Remington Stavros as Snoopy, take a “ride’ on the school bus. - Photos submitted
The Palace Players, founded by Farragut resident Xandria Cross, once again will take to the stage with a nostalgic flair to present “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Musical,” starting at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 21, and Friday, March 22, and at 2 and 7 p.m., Saturday, March 23, in Farragut Church of Christ, 136 Smith Road.
Friday, March 22, “we’re going to have a special guest there,” Cross said of “Melanie Kohn, one of the original voices of Lucy in the ‘Peanuts’ TV show back in the ’70s.
“We’re really excited to have her there,” he added. “She’ll be there from 6 to 7 p.m. She’s going to be in Town for her birthday … doing meet-and-greet and maybe attending the show.”
After seeing they were doing the production, Cross said Kohn reached out by e-mail. Additionally, this year is the 50th anniversary of two of Kohn’s specials, “It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown,” and “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown.”
The Palace Players is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization affiliated with a larger organization through ACT International.
Tickets are $15 per person and can be purchased at the door or on Players’ website, ThePalacePlayers.com or Facebook and Instagram, @ThePalacePlayers.
Based on the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schultz, the book, music and lyrics are by Clark Gesner. “It’s neat to see how the writers took the stories of the Peanuts and added songs and fun things for the characters to be involved in, storywise, (with) different skits and sketches,” she said.
“The show was originally produced in the ’60s, but in the early ’90s they redid it and added songs, characters and fleshed it out even more,” said Cross’ brother, Remington Stavros.
“Remi (Stavros) here is directing, and he’s in the show,” Cross said. “I’m vocal directing and assistant choreographer.”
“We’re doing the ’90s version of it, and it’s so much fun because it’s a colorful, fun comedy show (and) nostalgic, but it can get crazy at times,” Stavros said.
The production has six cast members: Christian Academy of Knoxville student Noah Standifer as Charlie Brown, Farragut home-schooled senior Hannah Campbell as Lucy, FHS student Hayden Toon as Linus, Eli Solomon of Bearden as Schroeder, Julia Heaton of Farragut as Sally and Stavros as Snoopy.
“We also partnered with Farragut Church of Christ,” Cross said. “They have been incredible, just welcoming us and giving us the space that allows us to do more in the Farragut community, which that was our heart in the first place, growing up in Farragut. ...
“You always had to drive, like, 20 or 30 minutes to get to a rehearsal or something like that, and we know that there’s a lot of people in Farragut, in the community, who love theater,” Stavros said.
