The Arlington Players has launched its 75th-anniversary season with a celebration of the beloved “Peanuts” characters, who are also marking their 75th year.
Weather conditions were accommodating for two of the opening weekend performances as the group brought the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” outdoors to audiences at Lubber Run Amphitheater.
And even this week’s Sunday matinee getting canceled due to rain couldn’t dampen the team’s enthusiasm for the effort.
“This is so much more than just a show,” Arlington Players president Emily Rhodes said. “It’s a celebration of everything TAP stands for — creativity, storytelling and community.”
For director Alexa Roggenkamp, the production represented a chance to connect audiences with positive messages based on childhood truths.
“This play has been very special to me, and a great escape from the adult world,” Roggenkamp said. “I’m extremely proud of what the cast has been able to accomplish in such a short period of time, and I’m so grateful to the tech team for their guidance and expertise.”
“Charlie Brown” is presented in collaboration with the Arlington Arts and the Lubber Run Amphitheater Foundation. The cast is composed of Jonathan Mulberg, Emily Carbone, Tianna Leon, Brandon Schenk, Sean Gilliam and Emily Gjovik.
This weekend will be the last one for the show, with performances at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The Thursday show has been added to make up for Sunday’s washout.
Admission for all Lubber Run performances is free, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis.
Arlington Players’ three mainstage productions of 2025-26 will be held inside at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre: “The Full Monty” in the fall, “Peter and the Starcatcher” in the winter and “Secret Garden” next spring.
Arlington Players previously presented “Charlie Brown” all the way back in 1972. The 2025 version is the latest of about 250 productions from the group over the past three-quarters of a century.
The comedy “Ring Around Elizabeth” in 1951 was the troupe’s first production. Records are spotty through 1956, but there is a full production record starting then.
The 750-seat community theater at Thomas Jefferson Middle School has been the troupe’s longtime home, but the 2011 earthquake that caused structural damage to the theater forced Arlington Players and other arts groups to find alternate locations until a renovation project was completed.
The family drama “A Daughter’s a Daughter” by Agatha Christie in early 2020 was the group’s last show for 18 months, owing to the pandemic. Productions resumed with appropriate health precautions in the fall of 2021.
The outdoor production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” kicked off this year’s summer concert series at Lubber Run Amphitheater.
Other summer performances run the gamut from the Arlington Philharmonic to a Beatles tribute. As with the Arlington Players production, all performances are free and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
