The South Arkansas Arts Center has announced the directing team for the upcoming spring production of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
The theater production is based on the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schultz, with book, music and lyrics by Clark Gresner. Sponsored by Teague Auto Group and Southern Bancorp, it will run March 1-3 and March 7-10. The team consists of Justin Howard, director; Jacob George, assistant director, and Charlsie Falcon, vocal director.
Howard has worked in community and professional theater for almost 15 years. This is his SAAC main stage directorial debut, although he has assistant directed other productions, including “White Christmas,”” 110 In the Shade” and “Sunset Boulevard.” He also lent his design talents to those shows, as well as to “Willy Wonka,” “Frankenstein,” “Addams Family” and “Les Miserables.” Throughout his career, he has worked in different venues around the country as well as overseas, but will always call El Dorado home.
“The Peanuts gang has been a part of my life ever since I was a kid,” Howard said. “Growing up, I would watch the Peanuts specials on television with my mother. ‘Snoopy- the Musical’ was always a favorite with me, and ‘You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown’ has elements from that television special that have stuck with me for decades. To this day, I still enjoy watching the old specials, and now I can pass it down to my kids.”
George is a professional sound designer and engineer, and an alumnus of El Dorado High School and Arkansas State University. After college, George worked for the Jenny Wiley Theatre and said he is excited to be back in his home community to work on this project. Previous assisting director and sound design credits include “Chicago,” “9 to 5: The Musica,l” “The Addams Family,” “Little Women” and “Next to Normal.”
Falcon is a vocal music director currently serving as the choir director of Norphlet Middle School and Smackover High School. She also teaches private voice and piano, and was the music director for “Singin’ in the Rain” at SAAC. A classically trained vocalist, Falcon received her bachelor’s in vocal and keyboard music education at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia and studied vocal music at the Salzburg College through the Miami Frost School of Music. Drawn to music at a very young age, Falcon has made the joy of making music a lifelong endeavor, and said she looks forward to making music with the cast of “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.”
“You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” is a fresh approach to the 1967 classic. Charlie Brown joins Sally Brown, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, and Snoopy in this charming revue of vignettes. The show depicts the everyday life of Charlie Brown, with experiences ranging from Valentine’s Day to the baseball season, from wild optimism to utter despair, all mixed in with the lives of his friends (both human and non-human).
For more information, call the SAAC office at 870-862-5474 or visit saac-arts.org. SAAC is located at 110 E. Fifth St. in El Dorado.