Salem's Charlie Brown Show Draws Students Back To Collins Stage

SALEM, MA — A few of the eighth-graders in the Salem Collins Middle School Drama Club were one week away from their sixth-grade stage debut when the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis shut down the 2020 production.

After a virtual show last year, a production of 51 sixth- through eighth-graders in the cast, crew and pit orchestra members will take to the Highland Street school's stage for the first time since 2019 — and the first time for any of them together — when the spotlight shines on their presentation of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" starting Thursday night.

There are three shows scheduled with the Thursday and Friday shows at 7 p.m. and the Saturday show at 2 p.m. The Salem School Committee voted last week to make the performance mask optional for students while they are actively performing on stage ahead of the district going mask-optional on Monday.

Salem Collins School Drama Director Ben Chertok told Patch the students embraced the show's themes of "discovering self-worth, finding joy in the little things and celebrating the happiness of being together."

"The students have really enjoyed bringing Charles Schultz's cartoons to life on stage," Chertok said. "Some of our ensemble members created unique perspectives on their characters and designed their own costume themes that fit the personalities that they created."

He said 25 of the students participated in a scenic design/construction elective where they designed and built all of the scenery while earning more than 150 community service hours over February break painting and putting the final touches on everything.

"As their director, I couldn't be more proud of how hard the students have worked and how they've really bonded together," Chertok said. "There's a real sense of team with this group and that's a testament to their work ethic and empathy they show towards each other, especially given how isolating the past few years have been."

Tickets are $5 each with spectators required to be masked at all times. Those looking to reserve seats can email Chertok at bchertok@salemk12.org.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)