Talk:You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

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Contents 1 Copyright violation 2 Snoopy vs. the Red Baron? 3 Happiness is a worn poppy 4 Very little about the revival 5 Original version 6 Vocal range 7 John Gordon 8 Clark Gesner

[edit] Copyright violation

The synopsis section was borrowed from http://www.musicalnotesnmore.com/main-V-Z.html. This type of contribution is against Wikipedia policies and therefore, it was reverted. -- AirOdyssey (Talk) 05:54, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Snoopy vs. the Red Baron?

My school choir performed selections from You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown when I was in high school, and I distinctly remember a number where militaristic music is played as Snoopy recites a monologue about being a World War I flying ace and engaging the Red Baron in aerial combat. (I dare say I remember that accurately--I played Snoopy!) The sheet music and lyrics for "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" came from the same book as the rest of the selections we performed, and all of the others are listed in this article (the title song, "Schroeder", "Glee Club Rehearsal", and "Happiness"). So where is "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron"? - Pennyforth 06:57, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

There are a number of differences between the later version and the original. I'm not sure that they are all bad, but as a former Charlie Brown, all I can say is . . .*sigh* . . .I'm going to go drown my sorrows in a haircut. 68.178.65.194 01:37, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Happiness is a worn poppy

The title song was parodied by the Dukes of Stratosphear on the album Psonic Psunspot as "You're A Good Man Albert Brown (Curse You Red Barrel)". The song recounts the latter days of a World War I soldier; not so much a flying ace as a shell-shocked survivor. Asat 01:22, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Very little about the revival

We need to find published sources to use to flesh out the section about the revival. The Sally Brown part was created for Kristin Chenoweth specifically, which is a notable element. Lawikitejana 14:00, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Original version

Considering the impact the original stage production had and the fact that for three decades it was the one performed in stock, school productions, and community theater, shouldn't it take precedence over the revival in the article? Simply describing the characters, songs, and synopsis of the revival without doing the same for the original version is a bit akin to George Lucas insisting Greedo was always meant to have shot first...ChrisStansfield 01:58, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

I do agree that the original production of the show should probably be given a bit more attention than it currently receives in this article. However, I'm sure that many editors (myself included) are much more familiar with more recent productions of the show, which is probably why that seems to be the focus of this article (most of my personal knowledge of the show comes from this article and the soundtrack to the 1999 Broadway revival). Still, I don't think that the differences between the productions are too terribly great, so I doubt the article needs a total rewrite or anything, maybe just some additional information in certain sections. If you're familiar with the original production, or can find some sources providing further information about the differences between the productions, feel free to add to the article. —Mears man (talk) 20:10, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Here's a good reference for the differences between the original and revised productions from Tams-Witmark: [1]. I don't have the time to do any work on this article. (Just a quick reading of the comments by Clark Gesner in the Tams-Witmark article seems to show that there was quite a bit that was changed: "All the music and dialogue for the show has been reworked; it is not just the same thing with two new songs. All the show's incidental music, dance music, vocal arrangements and orchestrations are brand new..." And of course there is the new character of Kristin-oops-Sally. JeanColumbia (talk) 20:22, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Vocal range

Does anyone have a source for the vocal ranges of the various characters in this musical? I stumbled upon a bit of a debate on YouTube as to what the desired vocal range for the character of Snoopy was. Some were saying that Snoopy was supposed to be a baritone, citing Wikipedia as their source, while others insisted that Snoopy was supposed to be a tenor and that Wikipedia was wrong on the matter. I checked the article and saw that no sources were cited, so I tagged them as needing references. Can anyone help to clear up this matter? —Mears man (talk) 18:27, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that Snoopy is supposed to be a tenor. Hmm. I have a copy of the score at home and I'll take a look at it when I can; I'm at work now. AJD (talk) 19:13, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Here we are. The ranges are given as follows. Sally: B below middle C to second A-flat above middle C. Lucy: G below middle C to second F above middle C. Snoopy: C below middle C to A above middle C. Schroeder: second B-flat below middle C to A-flat above middle C. Charlie Brown: second B-flat below middle C to F above middle C. Linus: second B-flat below middle C to E above middle C. By ordinary understandings of vocal ranges, this makes Sally a soprano, Lucy a mezzo-soprano, Snoopy and Schroeder tenors, and Charlie Brown and Linus baritones. I'll correct the article. AJD (talk) 00:45, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] John Gordon

I was trying to disambiguate this page, but I am not sure what to do with John Gordon. I do not beleive that he already has an article, but there has to be a way to refer to him without using the disambig. page. I was thinking about adding something (like this) afterwards, but I don't know what I should put there exactly.--Mynameisnotpj (talk) 03:55, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Clark Gesner

I'm wiki limited, so I just roughly added a "Clark Gesner" section to the article. He wrote the lyrics and music for the whole original production, so, certainly he deserves significant meniton in the YAGMCB article--not to mention a separate entry in Wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.65.106.215 (talk) 13:01, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

O.K., my entry keeps getting zapped, so here's the raw material I was using, which maybe someone can use as the seeds for a Clark Gesner article.

Composer, songwriter and author, educated at Princeton University (Bachelor of Arts). He wrote three Triangle shows, and songs for the Julius Monk revues "Baker's Dozen" and "Bits and Pieces". Joining ASCAP in 1962, his popular-song compositions included "14 Hours and 37 Minutes", "A Funny Way to Spend the Day", "The Peanut Butter Affair", "Societus Magnificat" and "Ode to a Park" (New York Park Association)--IMDB

By Margaret Johnson, Published: Thursday, October 12th, 2000, Daily Princetonian

"It sounds like you've got the same thing I've got," he tells me after we both survive a brief coughing spell. "Bronchitis. I had a doctor's appointment today." The voice is gentle and low, with a certain humility. On a late Saturday afternoon, my conversation with Clark Gesner '60 meanders from our health concerns to his memories of Princeton and on to our mutual appreciation of Betty Boop, and I almost forget that I am speaking to a guru of American musical theater. This is, after all, the man who taught Charlie Brown to sing.

Gesner's "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" opened at the Off-Broadway Theatre at 80 St. Mark's on March 7, 1967 and has since become one of the most frequently staged musicals in America. What some might consider surprising about the show's phenomenal success is that its author never intended for it to exist.

"It was very much a personal exploration," Gesner said. "I just liked the strip. I never wanted to make a show out of it."

But for Gesner, the songs kept coming.

"It just proceeded," he recalled. "Finally I sent a demo to [Charles] Schultz, and he just liked it very much and called me back and told me so, and so from then on [I] sort of had permission."

"I was reluctant all the way through," he added, "but finally I buckled down and saw how it could be done, and I wrote songs and scenes and sort of laid it out, and it opened, and it's been supporting me for the rest of my life."

I can tell that Gesner is grateful and rather astounded by his success — genuinely amazed that a private pet project has brought him all that "Charlie Brown" has, especially since he says he did not originally see musical theater as a career.

It was, however, musical theater that drew him to the University — specifically, the Triangle Club. With a grandfather from the Class of 1890, he had a connection to the University, but Triangle reeled him in.

"I lived in Plainfield, New Jersey at the time," Gesner said. "The Triangle show came there twice and I saw both of them and I would say that decided me." He worked with Triangle all four years as an undergraduate, playing and writing music, acting and, eventually, his senior year, conducting. "Even then they got me on the stage because in the last number they came down and lifted me out of the pit and put me in a little gold piano on stage and I played," he remembered.

I ask him if he was ever a member of a Triangle kick line, and he replies eagerly, "I was! Even on television. Ed Sullivan. We were in flapper dresses. The name of the number was the 'Skulk Step.' It was a Charleston. We all had cloche hats. It was very nice."

I laugh, picturing Princeton men in flapper drag on national television, and Gesner seems pleased. He tells me about going on a European tour with Triangle after graduation, before going to New York in a Volkswagon "literally to seek my fortune."

That fortune for the next few years involved holding cue cards and eventually writing for the television show "Captain Kangaroo," serving during Vietnam on Governor's Island off the tip of Manhattan and helping get "Sesame Street" off the ground.

And then came "Charlie Brown" and its four-year, 1,597-performance run.

I decide now is a good time to whip out my most controversial question: "Who is your favorite 'Peanuts' character?"

"Oh dear." He pauses. "I guess it's Linus. Linus I do identify a little bit more with."

Then we talk about his career since the smash comic-inspired hit, including writing the scores for "The Utter Glory of Morissey Hall" on Broadway, "Animal Fair" — which he proudly calls "really my own" — and a still-to-be-produced musical about Betty Boop. Gesner has also acted in summerstock theater in Vermont for the last dozen years.

"The main thing is that 'Charlie Brown' has allowed me to really pick and choose," he said. "I never was that ambitious. All I have is little ideas — they're like seeds and each one requires its own kind of caring."

His voice is gentle, and his words are wise and warm for a chilly Saturday. Reluctant to let the conversation end, I ask if he's coming back to Princeton any time soon. I find myself delighted when he confides that he's considering performing in a show here in a few months. "I'm still undecided. You can say I'm contemplating. I would love to be back on the McCarter stage after 40 years." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.65.106.215 (talk) 13:14, 22 May 2008 (UTC)