You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown plays out as nothing more than a musical sketch comedy show based around the characters of Peanuts, Charles Schulz's long-running comic strip. At some point in Peanuts' 50-year history, American composer Clark Gesner decided that a musical stage adaptation was in order, and so created this frenetic production starring the kids we all know and love. Enter the Hayes Theatre Co's version of the original musical, set on a stage flanked by billowing curtains and populated by actors channelling their inner five-year-olds.

As a nostalgic hit, Charlie Brown is unrivalled. The short non-sequitur exchanges between characters are strongly reminiscent of their periodic comic strip origins, and the personality of each individual kid is captured perfectly in these short vignettes — from the tragically depressive Charlie Brown himself to an incredible portrayal of crabby aspiring queen Lucy. Short musical sketches aside, the big musical numbers are as fun and uplifting as you'd expect, helped along by hypnotising choreography and hefty doses of mime choreographed by Andy Dexterity, who also plays the philosophical dog, Snoopy.

All in all, there's not a lot to dislike about the Hayes Theatre's You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. If you were ever sucked into the story of a little kid who just wanted to get his kite to fly — and even if you weren't — this is one musical production you won't want to pass up.