Elei Haynes Reflects on “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”

Photo provided courtesy of Barbara Anderson.

Recently, I sat down with BU theater major Elie Haynes, who played the leading role of Lucy van Pelt in Bluefield Youth and Community Theatre’s (BCYT) production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”

Haynes said this play was a different experience than her other productions with BCYT, namely because a new director, Ashley Burton-Pruitt, had directed this particular production. Haynes remarked on how well Burton-Pruitt had established the main theme of the play even in rehearsals.

“Ashley did a very good job at establishing community, which is what this (“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”) was about,” Haynes said. “Even though we already had a community, people knew her and loved her already, so it was easy for people to trust her.”

Haynes also spoke about Burton-Pruitt’s overall success with directing.

“She did a really great job with the time she had and the show that she picked and the people that she was working with,” Haynes said. “She put it together very well, and I think her vision was executed well.”

Haynes also commented on the unique relationship that the cast had. Though the Peanuts gang are close friends on the stage, Haynes said the familiarity among friends translated off the stage, as well.

“(The show) really stuck out because it was such an intimate cast,” Haynes said. “Even though we had an ensemble, there were the main six of us. So that really established a good sense of community and a good sense of unity.”

When asked about her biggest takeaway from the show, Haynes referred back to the closing song of the show, “Happiness.”

“I feel like it all comes back to the closing song,” she said. “The closing song was called ‘Happiness,’ and it’s about the little things that make you happy, but the main thing is the line ‘happiness is anything and anyone at all that’s loved by you.'”

Haynes said that the song discusses the idea of what makes you happy and where you find your happiness, bringing up “a deeper meaning to happiness and loving people.”