On Friday, April 29th at 8 PM, in the Burnight Studio Theatre ASCC and the Department of Theatre and Film put on a production of “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown,” directed by Jerry Prell.

Luckily the show opened on a nearly full house which seemed to lessen the still lingering pall of the infamous dead Zombie Prom auditions.

Jerry Prell had auditions for a show and these were the students that attended, so the chose this script to compliment the cast. The enthusiasm of the cast was surely the strongest element of this production; as with shows like these, if the cast is enjoying themselves then the audience will have an enjoyable experience as well. It was almost sold out.

It was an endearingly simplistic production with a mere dog house, front lawn, and over hanging tree branch for a set; and only a miniature grand piano and jumbo No. 2 pencil as props.

The minimalist aesthetic represented the message of the script which is expressed through “Happiness” the final song sung by the company.

“Happiness is anyone and anything at all that’s loved by you.” This simple line is meant for children to understand and adults to remember.

The costumes remained faithful to the comic strip characters on which this play was based.

The choreography left something to be wanted, especially when Dempsey Garcia, who played Linus, performed a number titled “My Blanket and Me” which was obviously meant to have lively choreography, perhaps a tap number, though none were presented.

Rather the actor afore named danced around the stage of the black box Theater in character shoes without a simple flap of the toe or shuffle of the ball to be seen.

This was disappointing because the number showed much more potential than what came to fruition.

The singing was not that of what one would expect from a vocal performance major, though the performers hit each note with decisiveness and some sense of tone.

More importantly than that, the actors sang in such a way as to personify their iconic characters with great accuracy.

“You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” has much to offer the Cerritos College student body at large.

This production illustrates the creative power present on campus while maintaining a “family friendly” quality. Clark Gesner wrote a script that has humor that both adults and children would understand, as a result the audience on opening night was bubbling with laughter.

The Department of Theatre and Film, unlike the block-headed title-character, has hit a home run.