Dear Diva,

I am the student director of a production of You're A Good Man,

Charlie Brown. It is a fundraiser for Blake High School theater department.

Because it's a fundraiser, I am trying to budget everything while

still bringing high quality visuals to our black box theater. This musical is

blocked so the actors are “popping out” of comic book panels into the

real world and I was wondering how I could convey a cartoonish

look to the costumes while still keeping within my minute budget. The cast has been working hard all summer to present this show at the beginning of the school year and I would really appreciate your advice.

Signed,

Cartoon Costumer

Dear Cartoon Costumer,

Good Grief! I am impressed with your arduous undertaking. Students directing a musical is never easy, especially when you have chosen such an iconic piece. Every generation has grown up reading the comic strip and watching Peanuts holiday specials on TV.

We have all rooted for Charlie Brown while he tragically flies his kite, loses at baseball, pays for advice from Lucy, and professes his undying devotion to the little red-headed girl. We can all relate to Charlie’s trials and tribulations. It is precisely these delightful dilemmas that have propelled him to superstardom.

Now the challenge is: How do you convey a well-known cartoon character on stage? Everyone reading this post can easily close his or her eyes and picture Charlie Brown in his yellow t-shirt with black horizontal zig-zags and black shorts. However, in the 1999 Broadway revival of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, costumer designer Michael Krass also chose to dress Anthony Rapp in a red and black striped shirt for the leading role. Why this change? Well, if you do your costume research, you will find that Charlie is often seen in a red shirt while playing sports with his friends. So which look is appropriate for your leading man?

I say give the audience what they want and go with the yellow shirt. It is the same as costuming Marilyn Monroe in her white dress from the Seven Year Itch (pictured) or the hot pink dress she wore while singing Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend. Sometimes you need to keep with that iconic image that endeared the person or character.

To stay within your budget, make only one costume for each character. You may easily find Charlie’s yellow tee on the internet. Try TvStoreOnline.com or myteespot.com. Lucy should be wearing a royal blue dress with large  black buttons, Linus needs his blue blankie and Sally should be clad in pink. Follow the comic strip accordingly for each of the remaining characters.

Creating costumes that “pop out” of the set is a twofold process. First, make sure everything is slightly oversized on the actors the same way the set is built to a larger scale. This can be achieved by having the boys wear their tee shirts well below the waist (about 6 to 8 inches) and making sure their shorts hit slightly below the knee. The girls’ costumes can be made to appear oversized by having exaggerated Peter Pan collars, giant hair bows and extra large buttons. Make sure the dresses are not too tight-fitting across the chest. The girls in the cast should be instructed to wear sports bras to package “the girls” in. (There are no boobies in the comic strip.)

Secondly, you should try to achieve a black outlined look around each costume. This will make the costumes look more cartoonish and can be accomplished by sewing piping into the costumes as they are constructed, or by sewing one-inch black bias tape on the edge of purchased or borrowed garments. If you have the luxury of owning the costumes, then you might try a more advanced technique. Warning: this is not for the faint at heart. Try painting the black directly on the costumes. Paint where you see seams, like along the bottom hem, the sides and below each collar. Careful painting will mimic Charles Schultz's brush strokes. Add white to highlight the black and give it a chalky feel. This can be achieved by a dry brush technique that I am sure you studied in set design. But remember: paint drips and bleeds, so less is more.

I hope these tips will get you on your way. I am delighted to see that the young actors of Tampa have spent their summer bringing this show to life. I would like to assist you in any way to make your cartoon dreams come true. For further help and more detailed assistance please email me at kathy@katbuck.com.

Good Luck and Happy Sewing!

The Costume Diva

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, 7 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Aug. 28-29, Blake High School, 1701 N. Blvd., Tampa, $10 adults, $7 students; e-mail edwin.celeiro@verizon.net for more info.