Charlie in Charge

People can't help but love the boy in the golden shirt with a black zigzag who never seems to catch a break. And that's because we can all relate to Charlie Brown: He makes us feel less loserish for our own shortcomings, and his simplistic realizations help us sort through life's shoddy psychiatry sessions. As much as some would like to view Charlie, Snoopy and friends as mere comic-strip doodles, it will be more difficult to deny their significance when Saint Louis University's theater department brings the gang to life onstage with its presentation of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, the musical based on Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comics. Catch the updated version of the play, complete with an onstage band, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (February 29 through March 8) or at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 9, at the University Theatre in SLU's Xavier Hall (3733 West Pine Mall; 314-977-3327 or www.slu.edu/theatre). Tickets cost $6 to $10.
Fridays, Saturdays; Sun., March 9. Starts: Feb. 29. Continues through March 8, 2008