''Snoopy: The Musical'' is a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

with music by Larry Grossman, lyrics by Hal Hackady, and a book by Warren Lockhart, Arthur Whitelaw, and Michael Grace. The characters are from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

''. This sequel to the musical ''

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'' is a 1967 musical with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and (in a 1999 revision) Andrew Lippa. It is based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip ''Peanuts''. The musi ...

'' focuses more on the life of

Snoopy Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. He can also be found in all of the ''Peanuts'' films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of the most recog ...

. Since its premiere, the musical has been a popular choice for regional, international, and

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as ...

performances.

Productions

Original San Francisco

''Snoopy: The Musical'' premiered on December 9, 1975 at the Little Fox Theatre in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California. Directed by Arthur Whitelaw, featured Don Potter as the title role. The costume design is by David Graden, with lighting by Ken Billington, orchestrations and vocals by Laurence J. Blank, produced by John Anderson, and choreography by Marc Breaux. The show opened to mixed reviews, not quite as critically acclaimed as ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown''. The show closed on July 5, 1976.

New York

The musical was produced

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

at the

Lamb's Theatre Lamb's Theatre was an Off-Broadway theater located at 130 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City inside the Manhattan Church of the Nazarene, near Times Square in New York City. It seated approximately 350 and specialized in musical producti ...

opening December 20, 1982. Directed by Whitelaw, with David Garrison as Snoopy. The show performed 152 performances until it closed on May 1, 1983. The crew included Paul D. Hughes, Martin Markinson, Gene Persson, and Donald Tick as producers, Ronald Melrose as musical director, Marc Breaux returning as choreographer, David Graden returning as costume and set design, Ken Billington returning as lighting designer, James Walsh as general manager, Richard Humleker and C. George Willard as press representatives, and Melissa Davis as production manager. The

received similar reviews to the San Francisco production. Later, when

Lorna Luft Lorna Luft (born November 21, 1952) is an American actress, author, and singer. She is the daughter of Judy Garland and Sidney Luft and the half-sister of Liza Minnelli. Early life Luft was born on November 21, 1952, at Saint John's Health Cent ...

replaced Peppermint Patty, a new song was written for her, entitled "Hurry Up, Face". This song was used in later productions, including the West End. A benefit

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

presentation of ''Snoopy!'' was held at the Peter Norton Symphony Space in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, on April 12, 2004. Directed by Ben Rimalower, with

Christian Borle Christian Dominique Borle (born October 1, 1973) is an American actor and singer. He is a two-time Tony Award winner for his roles as Black Stache in '' Peter and the Starcatcher'' and as William Shakespeare in '' Something Rotten!''. Borle als ...

starring in the title role, with Broadway star

Sutton Foster Sutton Lenore Foster (born March 18, 1975) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice, in 2002 for her role as Millie Di ...

as Peppermint Patty.

Toronto

The musical was first produced legitimately in Canada by the Toronto Civic Light Opera Company in January 1983. Directed by Joe Cascone, the cast starred Brad Donovan as the title role. The company revived the show in 1995 with Cascone now playing the title role.

London

The musical first opened previews September 16, 1983. The musical ran at the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 sea ...

, opening September 20, 1983 and starred Teddy Kempner as Snoopy. The show closed on November 11, 1984, after 479 performances. ''Snoopy!!!'' was critically acclaimed, and was a success, leading to a revival in 2003. ''Snoopy'' was revived at the West End

Jermyn Street Theatre Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an off-west end studio theatre. History Jermyn Street Theatre opened in August 1994. It was formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghetti ...

in February 2003 for 14 performances. It was directed by Joseph Pitcher and featured Stephen Carlile as Snoopy and Neil Gordon-Taylor as Charlie Brown. The musical ran at the New Players Theatre in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, in July 2004, with several cast members from the Jermyn Street production and again directed by Whitelaw, the original director. Robin Armstrong replaced Snoopy, and Stephen Kynman replaced Charlie Brown.

Brisbane, Australia

The musical played at The Queensland Performing Arts Center in The Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane (The Queensland Theatre Company) from October through December 1986. It then transferred to The Gold Coast in January 1987. Directed by Greg Gesch, starring Jack Webster as Snoopy, Patrick Phillips as Charlie Brown and Zoe Bertram as Lucy.

San Marcos, Texas

A revised version of Snoopy!!! The Musical (under the name ''The World According to Snoopy'') came to Texas State University from February 14–19, 2017. The musical was directed by Kaitlin Hopkins, starring Ryne Nardecchia as Snoopy. The musical was Choreographed by Adam Cates, Music Direction and Orchestrations by Greg Bolin, Production Stage Manager: Ethan Mitchell, Lighting Design by Ethan Jones, Scenic Design by Michelle Ney, Sound Design by Phillip Owen, Costume Design by Sally Rath, Projections Design by Andrew Mcintyre, Props Master by Erin Kehr, Sound Mixing by Ryan Thorton, Assistant Directing by Tom Delbello, Assisting to the director by Grayson Yockey, Assistant Choreographing by Elizabeth Brady, and Assistant Music Directing by Spencer Hansen.

Cape Town, South Africa

The musical ran at the Artscape Arena in Cape Town, South Africa in February 2018. The cast starred Jaydon Farao in the title role of Snoopy. The musical was produced by G&S, directed by Darryl Spijkers, musical direction by Kathy Lin, Set Design by Waldo Buckle and Zain Cassiem and Costume Design by David Pamplin.

Synopsis

''The show is a "series of self-contained vignettes".''Shenton, Mar
"Snoopy!The Musical"
whatsonstage.com, 21 July 2004 ;Act I As the curtain rises, each character enters and finds

atop his doghouse, and they all describe "The World According To Snoopy". Later,

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, ...

and

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip '' Peanuts'', syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a " lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great America ...

have a brief discussion of why he has chosen Snoopy for a pet ("Snoopy's Song"), which almost leads to Lucy getting Charlie Brown to buy a new pet. Snoopy, hoping to please his owner, decides to try to follow Charlie Brown's directions better. Meanwhile,

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

begins his day ("Woodstock's Theme"), but to his dismay, he seems to have fallen in love with a worm.

Peppermint Patty Peppermint Patty is a fictional character featured in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip ''Peanuts''. Her full name is Patricia Reichardt, which is very rarely used in the strip. She is one of a small group in the strip who live across town from ...

has similar problems with love, wishing that she could be prettier to impress Charlie Brown ("Hurry Up, Face"). In school, the group hopes that the teacher will not call on them to answer a question about the famous poet

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

. The girls are having trouble, while the boys are confident ("Edgar Allan Poe"). Linus says everything correct, with Charlie Brown saying the opposite. On

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...

, Snoopy reflects on how much he misses his lost mother ("Mother's Day"). Meanwhile,

Sally Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military * Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting na ...

, Peppermint Patty, and Lucy have a happy discussion on what they've learned in their lives ("I Know Now"). On

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...

, Linus, along with a reluctant Snoopy, awaits the arrival of the

Great Pumpkin The Great Pumpkin is an unseen character in the comic strip '' Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. According to Linus van Pelt, the Great Pumpkin is a legendary personality who rises from the pumpkin patch on Halloween carrying a large bag of t ...

in the pumpkin patch ("The Vigil"). To his dismay, the great pumpkin never arrives, like every year. The next morning, the group looks up at the sky where they imagine no clouds, but instead

Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore ( Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dako ...

dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...