You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Music and Lyrics · Musical · 1967
Act I Charlie Brown and Linus van Pelt are together, as his friends provide exposition and give their various opinions of him ("Opening"). One morning, Charlie Brown wakes to his friends celebrating him as a "good man" with the potential to do anything ("You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown"). Linus's older sister Lucy expresses her deep infatuation with Schroeder and asks him what he thinks of the idea of marriage. Schroeder is aware of her feelings, but remains aloof as he plays his piano, much to her disappointment ("Schroeder"). Schroeder walks around in the sun, happy with all the peace and quiet. However, that is soon interrupted by Lucy screaming for a ball. Snoopy lies on top of his doghouse, daydreaming about all the children adoring him until birds start to poke his stomach; he then begins to daydream about being a wild jungle beast. He soon realizes his fear of heights in this fantasy and returns to his peaceful state ("Snoopy"). Linus enters, holding his blanket and sucking his thumb. Lucy and Peppermint Patty show up and mock him for this habit. Lucy tries to pull away the blanket, but fails. Linus decides to abandon his blanket and move on, only to come running back to it in desperation. After the girls leave, Linus decides to relax with his blanket until he can outgrow it ("My Blanket and Me"). Charlie Brown tries to get his unusually stubborn kite to soar in the air. Eventually, he succeeds in doing this, and he enjoys a few minutes of triumph before the kite plummets to the ground ("The Kite"). Charlie Brown tries to find the right way to give his perennial crush, the Little Red-Haired Girl, her Valentine's Day card, but he ends up saying "Merry Christmas", making a fool out of himself. He finds Patty handing out valentines, and she drops a valentine with the initials C.B. Charlie Brown gives it back to Patty, but soon learns it was Craig Bowerman's valentine. He goes to see Lucy, who is at her psychiatrist booth. He tells her all the things he thinks of himself. Lucy then clears it up by saying that Charlie Brown is unique the way he is, then asks for the five cent price ("The Doctor Is In"). Lucy comes up to Schroeder again and talks about if they got married, and potentially having to survive poverty, annoying Schroeder yet again. Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, and Charlie Brown work on their Peter Rabbit book reports, each in his or her own way. Lucy simply rambles to fit the 100-word minimum requirement; Schroeder tries comparing the book to Robin Hood and ends up making his report mostly about the latter; Linus writes an overcomplicated psychological analysis, and Charlie Brown procrastinates out of panic ("The Book Report"). Act II Snoopy, in his World War I flying ace uniform, climbs atop his doghouse and imagines himself as a pilot searching for the Red Baron. He is defeated by the Red Baron and returns to the aerodrome in France ("The Red Baron"). Charlie Brown describes to his pen pal the events of a recent baseball game, where after various mishaps they nearly won the game, only for him to strike out and lose ("T-E-A-M (The Baseball Game)"). Linus and Lucy arrive home. Linus starts to watch TV, but Lucy tells him to switch channels. Lucy tells Linus that when she grows up, she will become a queen. Linus denies, and Lucy decides to cultivate her life for her "natural beauty" ("Queen Lucy"). The next day, at lunchtime, Charlie Brown talks about his bad days. He then notices the Little Red-Haired Girl approaching and puts a paper bag over his head. It turns out it is Lucy and Patty, chatting together. The friends for Schroeder's Glee Club and sing "Home on the Range". Unfortunately, a fight ensues between Lucy and Linus over a pencil, eventually leading to everyone except Schroeder and Snoopy becoming fed up and leaving ("Glee Club Rehearsal"). Later, Charlie Brown comes across Lucy teaching Linus about nature the way she views it, with "facts" such as bugs pulling the grass to make it grow or snow coming out of the ground in winter. Charlie Brown tries to correct her, but she retaliates with a false explanation, and Charlie Brown bangs his head against a tree in frustration ("Little Known Facts"). The next morning, Snoopy is puzzled why he has his supper in his red dish and water in his blue dish. While walking to school, Schroeder asks if Linus filled out the form that Ms. Othmar gave them. Linus puts down “Dr. Seuss“. Snoopy talks about how he hates cats, but he is also scared of them ("Peanuts Potpourri"). That evening, Snoopy complains that he hasn't been fed yet, and begins to overly complicate and dramatize the matter until Charlie Brown shows up with his dinner. Snoopy bursts into song about his craving for supper until Charlie Brown firmly tells him to eat his meal ("Suppertime"). That night, everyone looks at the stars in wonder. The next day, Charlie Brown discovers a pencil which has been dropped by the Little Red-Haired Girl. As he examines it, he discovers that it has teeth-marks and is overjoyed to learn that she is "human". As Charlie Brown expresses in song what makes him happy, everyone, touched by his love of life, begin to express what makes them happy as well ("Happiness"). Right then, he realizes being a "good man" means trying one's best and making the most of the things given in life. As his other friends leave the stage, Lucy turns to him and tells him one last time, "You're a good man, Charlie Brown." The revised edition is mostly similar to the original, although Peppermint Patty is replaced with Charlie Brown's younger sister Sally. Act I Charlie Brown's friends provide exposition and express their various opinions of him ("Opening"). As Charlie Brown heads to school, he takes in his friends referring to him as a "good man" and ponders what this really means ("You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"). Alone one day, during lunch, Charlie Brown talks about his bad days. He then notices the Little Red-Haired Girl, his perennial crush, and decides to go sit with her. However, he cannot find the courage to do so, and puts a paper bag over his head. Lucy and Sally walk by and draw a dress on the paper bag. Charlie Brown eventually takes it off and bemoans his lack of confidence ("You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" (reprise)). Lucy expresses her deep infatuation with Schroeder and asks him what he thinks of the idea of marriage. Schroeder is aware of her feelings, but remains aloof as he plays his piano. Sally is sad because her jump rope became entangled. Snoopy lies on top of his doghouse, relaxing vacantly and peacefully. He begins to daydream about being a wild jungle beast when several birds poke at his stomach. This fantasy is interrupted by his fear of heights, and he returns to his peaceful state ("Snoopy"). Linus enters, holding his blanket and sucking his thumb. Lucy and Sally show up and mock him for this habit. Linus decides to abandon his blanket and move on, only to come running back to it in desperation. After the girls leave, Linus daydreams of a blanket fantasy where everyone can relax with their blankets ("My Blanket and Me"). Lucy later tells him that she would someday like to be a queen ("Queen Lucy"). However, Linus tells her that she can't and she threatens to punch him. Sally gets a C for her low-quality coat-hanger sculpture. Charlie Brown tries to fly his kite and experiences a brief few minutes of triumph before it is eaten by the notorious Kite-Eating Tree ("The Kite"). Later, Charlie Brown tries to find the right way to give Lucy a Valentine's Day card, but he ends up saying "Merry Christmas", making a fool out of himself. He later learns that no one sent him a card, whereas everyone else, including Snoopy, got several. He goes to see Lucy, who is at her psychiatrist booth. He tells her all the things he thinks of himself. Lucy then clears it up by saying that Charlie Brown is unique the way he is, then asks for the five cent price ("The Doctor Is In"). Schroeder spreads the word of Beethoven's birthday and pulling together a celebration ("Beethoven Day"). Sally wakes up Snoopy to go rabbit chasing, and they go into strange places, like the Sahara. Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, and Charlie Brown work on their Peter Rabbit book reports, each in his or her own way. Lucy simply rambles to fit the 100-word minimum requirement; Schroeder tries comparing the book to Robin Hood and ends up making his report mostly about the latter; Linus writes an overcomplicated psychological analysis, and Charlie Brown procrastinates out of panic, while Sally and Snoopy continue chasing rabbits ("The Book Report"). Act II Snoopy, in his World War I flying ace uniform, climbs atop his doghouse and imagines himself as a pilot searching for the Red Baron. He is defeated by the Red Baron and returns to the aerodrome in France ("The Red Baron"). Sally, upset about a D her teacher gave her on her homework assignment, comes up with various new "philosophies", ignoring Schroeder's attempts to explain how philosophies actually work ("My New Philosophy"). Charlie Brown describes to his pen pal the events of a recent baseball game, where after various mishaps they nearly won the game, only for him to strike out and lose ("T-E-A-M (The Baseball Game)"). After Schroeder tells her she is a very crabby person, Lucy takes a crabbiness survey of all her friends to determine her crabbiness: Charlie Brown gives a waffling answer, while Sally is more definitive. Upon asking Linus, he refuses to answer until she promises not to punch him; when he gives her a score of ninety-five, though, she punches him anyway. After tallying the score, she realizes that she, in reality, is really very crabby and becomes depressed. Linus cheers her up by reminding her she has a little brother who loves her. The friends for Schroeder's Glee Club and sing "Home on the Range".