You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

t's not easy getting Center City folks to venture out to the suburbs but this holiday season a boy, his dog and his bumbling brigade of 6-year-old friends just might be enough.

by Amanda McKenna

theater

It's not easy getting Center City folks to venture out to the suburbs but this holiday season a boy, his dog and his bumbling brigade of 6-year-old friends just might be enough. The Media Theatre's production of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, the 1991 Broadway musical, is a perfect fit for all ages and a relief from the copious offerings of A Christmas Carol. Its "comic come to life" atmosphere is created through a set design that mirrors the panel layout of the print strip so audiences follow Charlie Brown and the gang from pane to pane through the course of a day. It's a busy day, too, full of classic Peanuts moments like Snoopy's imaginary mission to defeat the Red Baron, Lucy's love woes with her piano-playing boyfriend Schroeder and Charlie's homework troubles. There's even a musical number dedicated to Linus' love of his tattered blue blanket. Good grief, go see it already.

Runs through Dec. 31, $22.50-$39, Media Theatre, 104 E. State St., Media, 610-891-0100, www.mediatheatre.com.