By AMY STUMPFL
For Brentwood Home Page

The Jan Williams School of Music and Theatre, in conjunction with Centre Stage Productions, is presenting Snoopy!!! this weekend to sold-out audiences at Towne Centre Theatre. 

The musical sequel to You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Snoopy!!! is a perennial favorite among children’s and community theatre groups – thanks in large part to the familiarity of Charles M. Schultz’s beloved Peanuts characters.

“Parents and kids alike have grown up feeling sorry for Charlie Brown and laughing at Snoopy’s antics in Charles Schultz’s comic strips and the TV movies,” says Candice Himelrick, theater director for Jan Williams School.

Comprised of a series of humorous vignettes, Snoopy!!! features catchy musical numbers such as “The Big Bow-Wow,” “Don’t Be Anything Less (Than Everything You Can Be),” “Where Did That Little Dog Go” and “Daisy Hill.” But Himelrick has another favorite.

“There’s a classroom scene where Peppermint Patty, Lucy, and Sally are all unprepared to answer questions on their school assignment,” she says. “Of course, Linus and Charlie Brown know every detail about 'Edgar Allan Poe,' and the contrast is hilarious.

"It’s also an incredibly challenging song that my youth cast performs brilliantly.”

Centre Stage Productions teamed up with Jan Williams School of Music last fall to expand its educational and children’s theater offerings.

“The semester has been wonderful,” Himelrick says. “My cast has worked extremely hard to be prepared for rehearsals, which is very evident in the final production. The partnership between Jan Williams and Towne Centre is truly a divine match. We all have one goal for this program, and that’s to give these students a fun place to grow in their talents.”