The coronavirus pandemic forced them to suspend stage rehearsals. Still, teens in the upcoming Habersham Community Theater production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, haven’t let social distancing stop them from preparing. The show’s musical director Lisa Smith has been rehearsing with the young actors over FaceTime and ZOOM. Randy Warren, who portrays piano prodigy Schroeder in the musical comedy, took it a step further. He orchestrated and edited a video of the HCT ‘Peanuts gang’ singing one of the show’s most popular tunes.
“I reached out to the other principal characters in the show and shared the idea for this video,” Randy explains. “I gave them specific instructions on how to record their parts.”
He posted the music video on YouTube and Instagram.
The show will go on
The video features Randy and castmates Edwin Wood (Charlie Brown), Sam Warren (Linus), Zoe Simmons (Lucy), LeslieAnn Khoury (Sally), and Madelyn Williams (Snoopy). Their musical collaboration is a touch of “Happiness” in these otherwise difficult days.
“These kids were so happy to be able to work on this even if they weren’t together. They love theater and putting on shows and the time off has been hard for them,” says Randy’s mom, HCT board member Lynne Warren. Her husband Bob and younger son Sam also are active in HCT (Sam portrays Linus in Charlie Brown). “My boys went from four rehearsals a week to none, so our afternoons and nights are boring, but, of course, we understand it has to be that way,” Lynne says.
Since posting the video, Randy’s received positive feedback.
“Our directors said it made them cry and I am so glad that the video was meaningful to them. One of the primary reasons we created this video was to thank our directors for all their hard work.”
That hard work continues as the cast and crew eye an opening date sometime later this year. Charlie Brown was supposed to hit the Kollock stage in late May but that remains up in the air due to the pandemic. The theater board will meet this week to discuss future plans. In the meantime, the Peanuts gang keeps plugging along.
Rehearsing online has been “really different” and definitely is “not ideal,” says Smith, but it offers the cast something that’s desperately needed right now – hope. “It’s important to give them hope that the show will go on in some way, shape, or form,” she says. “They’re so excited!”
“One of the things I enjoy about theatre is not just the performances, but also the many hours spent with my friends rehearsing. Right now, that’s a void in all of our lives,” Randy says. “We are all stuck at home and these videos go a long way by keeping us entertained and connected.”
