Charlie Brown

Tonight Leila and I went to a production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown put on by the college where I work. The students did a good job, and I was impressed by the small orchestra (is 6-7 musicians considered an orchestra?) Leila enjoyed it, too. One of the musicians was delayed in traffic, so the director and choreographer took some questions from the audience while we waited to start. One man asked, is this play still relevant in 2011? The director's answer was that it is- it is timeless. She's right, too, but while Charlie Brown's lonliness and awkwardness were funny (sort of) many years ago, now his depression and isolation made me think of the more serious stories we hear of kids today and how they deal with lonliness. Of course, Charlie Brown has a lot of friends and is really well liked, but he doesn't realize that.
Years ago the high school students in Beautiful Hills put on this play. I must have been in about 5th grade. In order to see, I sat on the back of my chair in the very back row. Charlie Brown sat down and began his siloliquey about "the little red-headed girl" eating her lunch all alone. He happened to be looking in my direction, and I slowly slid down into my seat, blushing in fear that everyone was now looking at me.
He later told my older sister that he could hardly keep his composure.