Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
#0Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 6:36pmJust thinking about this today--why did the most recent revival close so quickly (with Anthony Rapp, B.D. Wong, Roger Bart and Cheno and all those other fabulous people) close so quickly? I saw it a few years back when it was at the Ambassador. I absolutely loved the production and its still in my top 3 shows that I've seen in NY. It was so fresh and hilarious! I'm just wondering, why do you think this didnt do well? Was it the addition of Andrew Lippas songs (I think most people would agree Beethoven's Birthday-not a fabulous tune)? I thought the cast was great, the singing was exceptional, and the script was so fantastic! Roger Bart was just wonderful as snoopy, and Cheno of course was great as Sally (obviously deserved the Tony) What are your opinions if you have any? Thanks! Updated On: 12/2/04 at 06:36 PM
#1re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 6:37pmI HATED, repeat HATED BD Wong's lisp. Linus did not have a lisp. But, besides that....I loved it!
"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2
Mythus
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/04
#2re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 6:38pmWhy did it close? I'm not really sure, actually. I do know that many people preferred the original, and thought the revival was too overdone and so on. I loved it.
#3re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 6:39pmI have to dissagree a bit-I do remember Linus having a small lisp--or maybe it was just the whole real kid talking thing? I'll have to watch one of the old cartoons again.
#4re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 6:46pm
I too enjoyed the show, and though it is a popular show with audiences, and based on a topic that everyone loves, let's be honest... how long can a musical based on the peanuts really run?
When I was living in Boston I played Linus in YGMCB and we ran for about four and half months. But towards the end the audoiences started petering out because there are only so many people that will pay the exorbitant price for a theatre ticket to go see a show about a comic strip.
And though I thought the addition of "My New Philosophy" added tremendously to the show, and I am a huge fan of Kristin's I don't think that any role in YGMCB is Tony award winning. Though since she was only up against performers in Fosse i soppose she deserved more than they.
I agree spider, BD Wong's lisp was obnoxious and I wanted to smack him around a bit.
If I could find a real life place like Tiffany's then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name! - Holly Golightly
#5re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 6:53pmI hated BD Wong! 7 more posts until I become a legend!
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#6re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 6:57pm
The Linus in the Christmas special does have a lisp, and B.D. picked it up from there.
Kristin Chenoweth was up against Valerie Pettiford from Fosse, Mary Testa from On The Town and Gretha Boston from It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues. And she really did cause quite a sensation as Sally. Ben Brantley's otherwise negative review was a complete love letter to Kristin and probably clinched her the Tony then and there.
"Gif me the cobra jool!"
Marquise
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
#7re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 6:57pmi saw this on b'way (when i was still living in nyc) and being a big Peanuts fan i loved it...i had only seen the animated version they made back in the early '70s so it was great to see real actors perform my favorite comic strip characters. kristin chenoweth got a new fan in me when i saw her as "sally"...so, so cute.
BJC899
Broadway Star Joined: 7/20/04
#8re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 6:59pm
I loved the show..had 1st row tix 
Anyway the show closed because they didn't win the revival tony. The cast members were actually notified that if they didn't win the Tony for best revival they would close. That's what Chenoweth said in an interview
#9re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 7:01pmI think I was in the 5th row? Anyway Ha-yeah this was the show that got me interested in Kristin. It's so funny because at the time I was in the middle of my Rent obsession (I guess I was a late commer-was the revival out in like '98 or '99?) -so seeing Anthony Rapp--I was so star stuck. So silly. Updated On: 12/2/04 at 07:01 PM
Joshua488
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/29/04
#10re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 7:13pmUmm, Linus DID have a lisp. I don't know if it was affected or if the kid who voiced Linus in the cartoons actually had one, but Linus sure did have a lisp.
stacey717
Featured Actor Joined: 10/27/04
#11re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 8:07pm
I really wish that I could have seen this show when it was on Broadway-- I have to say, I picked up the cd in response to wanting to hear more of Roger Bart's work and at first didn't love it (I only listened to songs he had a big hand in), but the entire CD completely grew on me and very much so (especially to be noted was Anthony Rapp, whose voice also grew on me --> this cd was the reason I decided to get the Rent cds, and then fell head over heels for that entire show--I'm very grateful for the NBC of YAGMCB!)...
Then I decided to get the OOBCR and have to say *not for me*. No offense to those who created it etc, but my taste much prefers the new recording with the new orchestrations (much more like an actualy orchestra of some sort instead of the more tinker-y toy-y sound of the original...(The original sounded nostalgic... I guess)...
I'd say that the NBC version was much more "Broadway" to me than the original...( I hope someone catches my drift on that... I know what I mean...)
This not to meniton the overall voices/performances, ehich I very much preferred the NBC for, of which I will say that BD's lisp bothered me more at first, and now it's not quite as annoying to me...still a little iffy, but not as annoying as the Lucy voice Levine put on in character--and IMO overdid quite a bit... It's a little hard to listen to the last note of Little Known Facts, if you know what I mean and have heard it...
It prolly closed most because it wasn't recieved well by critics--such an overall unfortunate sentimate 
And I just guess people didn't want to see it at that point in theatremaking... too bad...
VeuveClicquot
Broadway Star Joined: 11/2/04
#12re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 9:51pm
It was generally a terrible revival, and a big problem (in my opinion) was the cast. Other than Ms. Chenoweth (who was terrific) and Mr. Bart (who was solid), they were all either weak or miscast.
Oddly enough, I suspect that the re-writing of Sally had a lot to do with its failure. As originally written, the scene-stealing role in CHARLIE BROWN belongs to Lucy. In the revival, those roles were too similar, and the poor actress who played Lucy (whose name I can't even remember) was trounced by Chenoweth's performance, and came across as a non-entity. However, she still had more stage time than Sally. I, for one (and I suspect I was not alone), wanted Lucy to leave the stage and let Sally take over the show. The show, however, isn't constructed that way, which made for a frustrating, and ultimately unsuccessful, evening in the theatre.
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#13re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 9:52pmI noticed that when my school put on the show- it was Lucy who totally stole the show, because we had a weaker Sally.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#14re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 10:10pmThe show closed because it really didn't belong on Broadway. It expected to draw the family crowd, but couldn't pull them in. I think it would have played longer had it chosen to go off-Broadway. I don't feel that the new music added to the show. It seems the songs were written just to give the characters more stage time rather than having the songs come organically from the characters. Ilana Levine was too far over the top as Lucy. The performance I saw, she screamed through "Little Known Facts". (Of course it could have been that she was giving a performance intended for a full house, but the performance I saw was only half full, so there weren't the bodies to absorb the sound).
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
stacey717
Featured Actor Joined: 10/27/04
#15re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 10:29pm
"The show closed because it really didn't belong on Broadway. It expected to draw the family crowd, but couldn't pull them in."
I agree-- and I guess off B'way could have helped --the original was off bway...(I don't know if that's an indication)
And i also understand the point about scene stealing from the scene stealer, sally from lucy...yeah...
#16re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 10:31pm
I like worship whoever saw that..I think I would kill to see it
Im obsessed
(see username)
"It's a great feeling of power to be naked in front of people. We're happy to watch actual incredible graphic violence and gore, but as soon as somebody's naked it seems like the public goes a bit bananas about the whole thing."
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#17re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 11:06pmAnother thing that ticked me off were the graphics that they put behind Roger Bart during Snoopy's plane ride. Bart mastered the character of Snoopy and the graphics just cheapened his portrayal.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#18re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/2/04 at 11:57pm
The thing with YAGMCB is that the script consisted of these jokes that were decades old that the cast had to trudge through and rework, adding new stuff in as they went through previews and such. That and the show apparently lost a lot of money through production costs and such...
And yes, as someone said before me, the cast /was/ told that if they didn't win the Best Revival Tony, they'd lose their jobs the week afterward.
I happen to love the Revival Cast recording to death...it's something that can always cheer me up. From Roger (duh, look at my icon!), to Kristin, to Anthony, it really was quite full of talent. I don't happen to think that any of the leads were weak, but then, I didn't get to see the show. Recording-wise, I think they're all fabulous.
...and now I must listen to it. *skips off into the sunset*
Merrily we roll along, roll along...
#19re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/3/04 at 12:20amQuiteSo- I agree with everything..I love that CD to death!
"It's a great feeling of power to be naked in front of people. We're happy to watch actual incredible graphic violence and gore, but as soon as somebody's naked it seems like the public goes a bit bananas about the whole thing."
#20re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/3/04 at 12:29amWow lots of answers I didn't expect--how interesting! Thanks for all the input. I really loved the show, and like I said its been my favorite thing that I've seen for a while. :)
#21re: Youre A Good Man Charlie Brown Revival
Posted: 12/3/04 at 1:07am
mlaaah you saw it?
*dies of misery of being too young to be interested in bway shows..or i might have seen it* waaaaaaaaa
"It's a great feeling of power to be naked in front of people. We're happy to watch actual incredible graphic violence and gore, but as soon as somebody's naked it seems like the public goes a bit bananas about the whole thing."
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