November 7, 2006

SAARTS family-friendly production staged in new Horowitz Center theatre

(Columbia, Maryland) – Howard Community College's (HCC) Student-Alumni Arts (SAARTS) stages one of the most celebrated musicals in American theatre, "You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown," based on the “Peanuts” comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, with music and lyrics written by Clark Gesner.  The SAARTS production, directed by Susan G. Kramer, opens Thursday, November 30, 2006 in HCC’s new Black Box Theatre inside the college’s Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center.  Performances will be held through December 17 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m.  Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 for seniors and groups, and $10 for students with proper I.D.  For reservations, call the HCC Box Office at 410-772-4900.  For more information, call 410-772-4515, visit www.howardcc.edu/studentarts (online tickets available) or email studentarts@howardcc.edu.

Audiences from 3 to 103 will enjoy the journey through a single day made up of little moments from all the days of Charlie Brown and the lives of his friends - from Valentine's Day to the baseball season - from wild optimism to utter despair.  SAArts' spin on this heart-warming and plucky musical features the familiar, quirky Peanuts Gang characters as they dance, sing, and story-tell their way atop a lively playground backed by a live, funky jazz combo. 

The production features Darius McKeiver (as Charlie Brown), Danny Townsend (Snoopy), Vanessa Kinsey (Lucy Van Pelt), Christopher Adams (Schroeder), Jamie Driskill (Linus), and Madison Bahr (Patty).  The Peanuts Gang includes:  Ashanti Cooper, Candace Cooper, Lauren Danzig, Melissa Ivester, Eric MacDonald, Carol McNeely, Mike Sachs, Gavin Shown, Chris Sisson, and Autumn Wissinger.

Production and design staff include Susan G. Kramer - director; Aaron Broderick - musical director;   Jenny Male - choreographer; Wm. M. Yarbrough III - set design; Judith Daitsman - light design; Benjamin Masone - costume design;  Carol McNeely - props design; and Janelle Broderick - stage manager.

"You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown" is SAARTS' first musical in four years and the group's first production in their new home - the Black Box Theatre of the Horowitz Center - located on the HCC campus at 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Maryland 21044.