This article has been updated as of February 3, 2020, from an earlier version.
The 1999 revival of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, opened on Broadway on February 4. With book, music, and lyrics by Clark Gesner, the musical, based on Charles Schulz’s beloved Peanuts cartoons, won two Tony Awards for stars Roger Bart and Kristin Chenoweth—also nominated for Best Revival and Best Direction—and the 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical. The story follows the gang—Charlie Brown (Anthony Rapp), Sally (Kristin Chenoweth), Snoopy (Roger Bart), Lucy (Ilana Levine), Linus (BD Wong), and Schroeder (Stanley Wayne Mathis)—through childhood pitfalls and triumphs, including five-cent psychiatry, unrequited valentines, and the question of what it means to really be good.
The revival, directed by Michael Mayer, ran for 149 performances, closing just after the 1999 Tony Awards June 13, 1999. The original cast, though small, has gone on to be some of the most recognizable in entertainment. The cast reunited on the 2019 BroadwayCon stage to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the production. See what they’ve been up to below:
Anthony Rapp, Charlie Brown
Rapp, of Rent fame, reprised the role of Mark—which he originated—in the Broadway production in 2007 after immortalizing role on the big screen in the 2005 film adaptation. He later reunited with his Rent cohort Adam Pascal to tour internationally with the show. He returned to Broadway to play Lucas in If/Then, starring Rent cast member Idina Menzel. Rapp can now be seen in the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery as Lt. Stamets, and is the creative mind behind the annual BroadwayCon, a celebration of Broadway fandom and past, present, and upcoming theatrical projects, which just had its fifth annual convention in January 2020.
Kristin Chenoweth, Sally
Chenoweth’s star has exploded since her Broadway principal debut as Sally. Following her Tony-winning performance, Chenoweth played Louise in Broadway’s Epic Proportions before originating the role of Glinda in Wicked, earning a Tony nomination for the latter; it still remains her most famous Main Stem appearance. She starred in The Apple Tree as Eve, Princess Barbára, Ella and Passionella in 2006, as Fran Kubelik in the 2010 revival of Promises, Promises opposite Sean Hayes. From 2004–2006 she had a recurring role on the hit television series The West Wing as Annabeth Schott and led the series Pushing Daises from 2007–2009. She continued working in film and television with roles like Carlene Cockburn on GCB and as April Rhodes on the hit musical show Glee from 2009–2014. Finally, in 2015, she returned to Broadway in On the Twentieth Century as Mildred Plotka/Lily Garland, earning a third Tony nomination and winning the Drama Desk Award. That year, she hosted the 2015 Tony Awards with Alan Cumming. In 2016, she presented the limited engagement concert entitled Kristin Chenoweth: My Love Letter to Broadway. She led Season 2 of Trial & Error and hosted Wicked’s 15th Anniversary television special in 2018. Chenoweth is still working on a project about televangelist Tammy Faye Messner. In the fall of 2019, the star returned to Broadway with her concert act For the Girls. Her appearance as the star guest of the Tabernacle Choir’s annual Christmas concert aired December 2019 (a tape of the concert held in 2018). She starred in the holiday film A Christmas Love Story, and continues to film for movies and television.
Roger Bart, Snoopy
After winning a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award as Snoopy in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Bart was featured in Broadway's The Producers, originating the role of Carmen Ghia and earning Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. He later replaced in the leading role of Leo Bloom in 2002. But audiences will forever associate him with Carmen, since he played the role in the movie musical adaptation in 2005. He was also in Broadway’s The Frogs as Xanthais in 2004 and led the next Mel Brooks Broadway musical as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein in 2007. He continued to work in television, with guest appearances on shows like 30 Rock, CSI, Medium, and a regular role on The Event and a recurring role on Desperate Housewives and Episodes. In 2016, he returned to the Main Stem in his longtime friend Seth Rudetsky’s musical Disaster! as Tony, the owner of the floating casino. He has continued to work in television as a regular on Graves, There’s...Johnny!, and a recurring character on Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. The actor played Rooster Hannigan in the 2018 Hollywood Bowl production of Annie, directed by Michael Arden, and is currently a regular in The Fosters spinoff Good Trouble. In the summer of 2019, he played Hades on the Public Works production of Hercules at the Delacorte Theatre; Bart voiced the character of Hercules in the Disney animated film that inspired the stage musical.
Ilana Levine, Lucy
Levine followed her performance as Lucy with a new Broadway comedy, Wrong Mountain, in 2000. She’s snagged parts in over a dozen movies including Kissing Jessica Stein, The Nanny Diaries, and appeared in the feature film Friends With Kids in 2011. She is best known for her current podcast “Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine.” In a nod to her past on the Broadway stage, many of Levine’s guests are Broadway stars, and the podcast episodes often reveal intimate, hilarious, and inspiring facts about the guests. She returns to the stage in Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of The Perplexed by Richard Greenberg.
Stanley Wayne Mathis, Schroeder
Following his performance as Schroeder, Mathis originated the roles of Paul in the 1999 Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate and Speedy Valenti in Wonderful Town in 2003. He replaced as Chief Berry in Nice Work If You Can Get It in 2012, and as Mafala Hatimbi in The Book of Mormon in 2013. He played Evan Ward on the short-lived TV series Rise. In 2019, he appread on the stage in City Center’s Encores! staging of Call Me Madam and at New Jersey’s Two River Theater Oo-Bla-Dee.
BD Wong, Linus
Before Charlie Brown, Wong won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his groundbreaking performance in M. Butterfly. After Charlie Brown, he returned to Broadway in the 2004 Pacific Overtures. After starring as Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for 15 years, Wong voiced Dr. Henry Wu on the TV series Lego Jurassic World and held small roles on Madam Secretary, Gotham, and American Horror Story. He appeared in Atlantic Theater Company’s New York premiere production of The Great Leap in June 2018. He is a series regular on the acclaimed Mr. Robot and the new series Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens.
Flip through the original production photos below:
