Consider Legacy Theatre’s current production of the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” as reflective of our new normal during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
No matter how many other versions of it you might have seen before, chances are that none of them included, as this one does, a prop Plexiglas shield suitable for socially distancing Lucy Van Pelt in her psychiatric booth from her clients and fellow “Peanuts” characters.
But the show is a sign of the times in greater ways than just that. As the first and only live theater option to open on the local scene in nearly three months, it grew out of necessity, when, like every other performing arts company in metro Atlanta, the Fayette County-based Legacy was forced to shut down operations back in mid-March. Its run of the John Denver revue “Almost Heaven” had barely begun, and plans to stage “High School Musical 2,” “Junie B. Jones” and “The Wizard of Oz” over the summer also had to be canceled (or postponed, at least).
In a case of making the best of a bad situation, the idea for a temporary solution came somewhat easily to Legacy artistic director Mark Smith and his wife, managing director Bethany Hayes-Smith — after all, the couple, who co-founded the troupe in 2006, first met as actors, while performing in a show together at an outdoor theater in Kentucky.
With some two acres of grounds surrounding their existing facility in Tyrone, thus was born Legacy on the Lawn. In a relatively brief month or so, Smith and company had gained the support and approval of various city and county authorities, and completed construction of a two-tiered, 24’-by-21’ platform stage. “Given Bethany’s and my background working in outdoor theater, it was an animal we already knew,” Smith recalls. “So it was almost like, why not?”
From an artistic standpoint, the challenge was to focus on shows that featured a smaller number of characters, and with fewer demands in terms of technical production values. First up is “Charlie Brown,” which opened last weekend and continues through June 28. Scheduled for July 10 through Aug. 2 is the bluegrass gospel musical “Smoke on the Mountain.”
Smith says his top priority, however, is the safety and welfare of audiences and artists alike. In full compliance with all the appropriate CDC guidelines, seats are configured in clusters (depending on the number of people in each party) and then separated by at least six or more feet. From purchasing and picking up tickets to buying concessions during intermission, he describes the outing as a “contact-free experience.”
Paradoxically, Smith observes, the best theatergoing experiences are usually those that “connect us on some human level.” Indeed, “The whole world of Charles Schultz and ‘Peanuts’ is all about celebrating that unity between us as people,” he notes.
“The arts have always been necessary, of course, and maybe never more so than right now, during times like this, after everything we’ve all been going through lately,” Smith says. “Getting back to the business of bringing these shows to people, the most important thing is doing it in a way that protects the health and welfare of our audience. But it’s about more than that, too. It’s also about the deeper, more general welfare of the community at large.”
Based on early feedback, “Charlie Brown” audiences seem to agree. As Smith puts it, “I’ve been hearing from a lot of people, who say, ‘Thanks for giving us a reason to laugh and smile again. We really needed that.’”
THEATER EVENT
Legacy on the Lawn
"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" continues through June 28, followed by "Smoke on the Mountain" (July 10-Aug. 2). 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays. $15-$45. Legacy Theatre, 1175 Senoia Road, Tyrone. 404-895-1473. thelegacytheatre.org.
