Students at Weyauwega-Fremont High School read comic strips to prepare for this year’s musical.
That is because the high school is presenting “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” this month in the high school auditorium.
Performances will be at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 21 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 22.
Tickets are $5. Advance ticket sales will begin Monday, April 16, in the high school office.
Carrie Gruman-Trinkner is the high school’s choral instructor and the director of the musical.
“It’s for adults as much as kids,” she said of the musical.
She said it has been performed on Broadway twice and was the winner of two Tony awards.
“The music is very complex,” Gruman-Trinkner said. “I had the kids do a lot of research, reading the comic strips to get a handle on the characters and personalities.”
As a result, when rehearsals began, the students realized that the script on stage is almost word from word what cartoonist Charles M. Schulz wrote, she said.
The students began working on it a couple months ago, and Gruman-Trinkner said that with about half of her cast in track and the other half in softball, the coaches have been great about working things out so that the students can do both.
When she decided to direct “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,” she also put out the call to those she worked with in previous communities and theater groups.
“I sent out one Facebook message to a friend,” she said.
Soon, Gruman-Trinkner received costumes and props from a theater in Neenah.
“I’m very excited about it, and the kids are excited about it,” she said.