GOOD GRIEF! Charlie Brown is 50 years old! And he, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder and the gang still look as young as they did when they debuted in Ocotber of 1950! Even though the beloved comic strip was officially retired in February of this year, it will forever live on in the hearts of its millions of fans, both young and old. Though the father of the "Peanuts" kis=ds, the legendary Charles Schultz, is no longer with us, his creations will remain, forever innocent and childlike, capturing for all of us the joys and sorrows of youth. We were saddened when Schultz announced that the comic strip would end after 50 years in February of this year, due to his own ill health. But when he died late on a February evening just prior to the appearance of his final Sunday morning strip, he left us with many wonderful television shows and merchandise items to treasure and to be passed on to future generations.

One of the greatest gifts he left us was the delightful Broadway musical, "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown." It's one of those rare thestrical experiences that touches both children and adults alike, letting adults relive the heartache and happiness oof childhood whil showing children they are not alone as they go through the pleasures and pratfalls of life.

And how lucky for us that the East Carolina Summer Theatre is presenting this wonderful musical July 18-22 in McGinnis Theatre. Producer John Shearin was not aware when he first selected the show of what would later transpire, the death of Charles Schultz. He originally felt that "after the terrible experience of Hurricane Floyd flooding and the devastation that set in to the entire county, we needed something this summer to just life our spirits in the most pure way, that would charm us and make us feel good, remind us of all the pleasant and wonderful things in life...and that's what this show does! And certainly now, we've turned it into a tribute to Charles Schultz and all the Peanuts characters."

The musical, originally performed on Broadway in the late 1960's, was revived and revised just last year in New York, winning a Tony award for supporting actress Kristin Chenowith (as "Sally"). SOme of the major changes in the new show were the exculsion of the character "Patty" and the addition of Charlie Brown's sister "Sally" and several new songs. But having myself directed a local production of the original version some 21 years ago, I am pleased that the ECU Summer Theatre has chosen to produce this standard version as well. Having read the newer script, producer Shearin says he felt the original was "a much more charming show."

Heading the ECU cast as the title character is Jim Poulos, who most recently was seen on Broadway as "Mark Cohen" in "Rent." This young actor's credits also include regional productions of "Into the Woods," "West Side Story," "Love's Labor's Lost," "La Cage Aux Folles," and "The Grapes of Wrath." This fall, he'll head for Texas to play "Huck Finn" in "Big River." New York based actress Lori Gardner, who will play "Lucy," is happy to return to the ECU stage where she played "Sally Bowles" in "Cabaret." Other favorite roles include "Maria" in "West Side Story," "Amalia" in "She Loves Me," "Nellie" in "South Pacific," "Sandy" in "Grease," "Hope" in "Anything Goes," "Marion" in "The Music Man," and "Liesel" in "The Sound of Music."

Patrick Riviere will bring "Snoopy," everyone's favorite beagle, to life for the third time in his career, having played the role twice in New York City. Some of his other stage appearances include major roles in "The Robber Bridegroom," "Babes in Toyland," "Evita," "West Side Story," "Oklahoma!," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and "South Pacific."

Rounding out the cast will be Rust ROss as "Linus" and ECU students Jeremy Woodard as "Schroeder" and Arianne Ritchie as "Patty." Woodard is a senior whose recent ECU performances include the lead in "The Foreigner" and roles in "Macbeth," "The Music Man," "Our Town," "Cabaret," and "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown,"(that time as the title character.) He also appeared in North Carolina Theatre's production of "Carousel" in Raleigh. Ritchie is also a senior whose credits here include "The King and I," "The Sound of Music," "The Music Man," "Mother Hicks," "Big River," and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."

"Charlie Brown's" Assistant Director, David Calafiore, promises this is "most definitely a show for the entire family!" A 1998 ECU graduate himself, David is now living in New York City pursuing a career in directing. He says they have been doing a lot of research on the original "Peanuts" comic strip, and the show is really "all about bringing the strip to life, taking it and putting it ight up on the stage," from the costumes and colors to the sets and lights. "Even the dialogue comes right off the pages of the strip," he observes.

Calafiore says that part of Schultz's charm was that we can all identify with his characters. "There's a lot of real life hidden in those kids," he states, "and hidden messages for adults. Charlie Brown is this kid who's kind of lonely and depressed, and he gets really sad and thinks he has no friends and only bad things happen to him. Then he finds that pencil that the little red-haired girl dropped, who he's in love with and thinks will never look at him. He finds her pencil and it has bite marks on it...and he realizes she's human after all!"

The simple but lovely score will be performed by a four-piece orchestra, which is perfectly suited for the show since it is, simply put, about "little kids figuring out life," says Calafiore.

As Charlie Brown and friends discover in the show's most famous song, "Happiness is anyone and anything at all that's loved by you!" And this show is guaranteed to bring happiness to you and your family, since everyone of every age is sure to love it! Call the ECU Summer Theatre box office at 328-6829 to find out more about ticket prices and to reserve your seats now for "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" July 18-22.