You're still good, Charlie Brown
The charm of the classic comic-strip characters and a fresh HRDC vision keeps the sweetness of youth and friendship in a beloved musical.
By Ogechi Obi '26
OFA Staff Blogger
Nikhil Kamat '25 used to think of himself as an actor. This year, after coming off a sabbatical semester, Kamat decided to throw himself into a new endeavor: directing. The show: You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. The reason? The answer is simple. Kamat has always loved it. He grew up watching Charlie Brown TV specials and reading the Peanuts comic-strip on which it is based. He has paintings of Snoopy, Charlie Brown’s beagle, in his room. To him, the show, which Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club presents March 2-4, is a classic, that is “energetic, charming and truthful.” Ria Cuellar-Koh '26, who plays the role of Sally Brown, agrees: “It’s really fun playing someone that bombastic.” Sally is, she adds, “full of life.”
It's this very quality that keeps the show fresh. Though the show is older – with source material from the ‘60s – both Kamat and Cuellar-Koh believe that it deserves to be performed today. Cuellar-Koh pointed to the universality of the show, saying that the original speaks to “the feelings that we have as children,” and that state of “loving things deeply and feeling losses very deeply because we have so little to compare to.” Kamat sees the same charm in the show, calling it full of “interactions between the cast that people would relate to.”
Kamat takes his commitment to the show a step further. Not only does he seek to capture the light-spiritedness that has characterized the show for generations, but he also hopes to diversify the experiences presented onstage. He pointed to the lack of character of color, aside from Franklin, who was added in the ‘70s as a response to a letter sent to Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, calling for the introduction of Black children into the comics. In his rendition of the show, Kamat believes his multiracial friend group will modernize it and inject relevancy into a long-time classic.
On a tight schedule, the show is now just days from opening night on March 2. Structurally, it is a series of vignettes, rooted by the music, which according to Kamat is “the highlight of the show.” In his interpretation, he hopes to work with the actors to find a throughline, something made easy by the connection and strength of the cast. “Working with them has been great,” he says, adding that “being able to work with the cast from the start has been truly amazing.”
Cuellar-Koh has a similar view. She notes that they have a great team that helps them balance school, work and mental health. For her part, she has focused on putting herself in the headspace of the young character she plays who is “ready for whatever happens but is so inhibited by the fact she is very young.”
The essence of youth is captured throughout the show, whether it is in the cast, the script or on the set itself – a vibrant playground in the Loeb Ex theater. Audiences will be able to see the show unfold right before them. No matter where one sits, “the characters are going to run past you,” says Kamat. Whether you have read the comics or seen the TV show, connection with the musical is inevitable, he says. Cuellar-Koh adds that the musical is funny, sweet, sincere, not contrived and earnest.
You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown will be performed March 2-4 at the Loeb Ex. For tickets and to find our more about the show, click here.