Original Creative Team

Charles M. Schulz was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 26, 1922. His Peanuts comic strip debuted in 1950 in just seven newspapers and launched a cultural legacy. When Schulz announced his retirement in December 1999, Peanuts was syndicated in over 2,600 newspapers worldwide, with book collections translated in over 25 languages.

Clark Gesner (1938-2002) was an American composer, songwriter, author, and actor. In addition to You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Mr. Gesner wrote the book, music and lyrics for Animal Fair, which premiered at the Denver Center Theatre, and with Nagle Jackson, Broadway's The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall. For television, he wrote for Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street and That Was The Week That Was, and on stage for the revues of Leonard Sillman and Julius Monk. He appeared regularly in B. T. McNicholl's Musicals in Concert series and performed regionally in 1776, Lend Me a Tenor, Carnival! and other musicals, as well as eight years of productions at the Weston (Vermont) Playhouse. The Jello Is Always Red, a revue of Mr. Gesner's cabaret and theatre songs, was produced by the York Theatre Company.

Andrew Lippa wrote the music and lyrics for Big Fish, book by John August, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, which recently played at the Neil Simon Theater on Broadway. His concept opera I Am Harvey Milk (words and music), was premiered by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. That recording, released in October 2013, reached number 2 on the iTunes Classical Chart, and the piece has had over 20 productions worldwide. He wrote the Tony-nominated music and lyrics for the Broadway musical The Addams Family, which starred Nathan Lane. His musical The Wild Party (book/music/lyrics) won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Best Music. His new songs for the 1999 revival of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, along with his production of the cast recording, earned him a 2000 Grammy nomination. He serves as president of the Dramatists Guild Fund and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.