Needham High School senior Lynne Richman smiled with pride when the play that she directed, ”You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” received well-deserved standing ovations after both performances. The initial funds necessary to direct and produce the play were made possible by an NEF grant.
Lynne’s response to her show choice: “I knew I wanted a show with a small cast, simple costumes, and few set changes. I browsed through many lists of shows with this lens, and Charlie Brown was the perfect choice. It had everything I wanted, and it was family-friendly and the music was fun!”
According to David Neves, director of fine and performing arts for Needham Public Schools, the production was successful in many ways. “Our senior did a commendable job of pulling all the pieces together in directing and producing the show. She showed great poise and flexibility throughout the process of juggling rehearsal schedules, assembling her “team” of student assistants, working with administration and staff in use of the space for rehearsals, and, in the end, culminating in a very positive production. Lynne was also very wise in selecting a show that would work well with the talented cast and be small scale enough to be manageable. She demonstrated the ability to make artistic choices to maximize the effectiveness of the production while still remaining within the constraints of her budget. She definitely grew immensely as a result of this experience. We are so very thankful that NEF provided us with the seed money to make this a reality both this year and into the future. We look forward to seeing which senior students next year might consider this opportunity.”
