CARTOON COMES ALIVE ON STAGE- - In the front, Ally Zlaket is Lucy and Alex Karukas is Linus as they share a song in ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," which was presented recently by the thespians at Redwood Middle School. The young thespians of Redwood Middle School presented "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" last week in a touching and whimsical performance of the show devoted to the lovable characters from the hugely successful "Peanuts" comic strip. Thousand Oaks High School donated its Performing Arts Center for the performances.

When "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" made its debut off Broadway in 1967, Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" was the most popular comic strip in the world, spawning a veritable empire of commercial products, from lunchboxes and trading cards to television specials and even a theme park at Knott's Berry Farm. Its popularity, however, has waned since Schulz's death in 2000, with newspapers rerunning old strips to fill space and commercial products disappearing from store shelves.

In today's world of infinite distractions, children don't seem to pay much attention to the funny pages anymore. (Before doing the show, most of the Redwood kids were probably unfamiliar with the characters.) The musical, with songs written by Clark Gesner, however, has thrived in regional theater and children's productions.

The version Redwood Middle School staged is based on the 1999 revival (which added characters like Peppermint Patty) and was augmented by director Gary Fritzen, who added dialogue from "Peanuts" comic strips in order to give the expanded cast of 26 children ample opportunities to recite lines and contribute to the ensemble songs.

Fritzen, who works as choral director at Thousand Oaks High School, heads the Redwood Musical Theatre Arts Academy, a new afterschool program that encourages middle school students to get started in the arts.

"Peanuts" was unique in that Schulz populated it with unforgettable characters who philosophized about life using the language of grown-ups. Its star was the lovable loser, Charlie Brown, with a supporting cast that included the volatile and selfabsorbed Lucy, her intellectually inclined brother Linus, and Charlie Brown's imaginative beagle, Snoopy. The strip was filled with homilies that have entered the American lexicon, such as: "Happiness is a warm puppy," "Love is a letter on pink stationery," and "When you're lonely, peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth."

As Charlie Brown, seventhgrader Emmett Dixon perfectly captures Schulz's alter-ego, who always manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. He excels in the school spelling bee, but only because he is given words familiar to him, like "insecure" and "stomach ache." He finally falters and misspells "beagle," to the dismay and embarrassment of Snoopy (Katherine Reaves).

Dixon's Charlie Brown trudges through life with a cloud over his head. It's amazing how effective he is, despite the fact that, as his father informed me during intermission, he was not familiar with the comic strip.

Ally Zlaket was also good in the complex role of Lucy, the fussbudget whose merciless needling of Charlie Brown is offset by her unrequited pining for Beethovenloving pianist Schroeder (Cody Hoffman). Alex Karukas was ebullient and joyful as Linus, whose futile attempts to break his devotion to his blanket were hilarious.

The highlight of Alex's performance is the song "My Blanket and Me," in which he shares a pas de deux with his anthropomorphic security blanket, played by Natalie Stanziano.

As Snoopy, Katherine Reaves exhibits the joie de vivre that made the beloved beagle famous. Perched atop his doghouse, Snoopy imagines himself as a World War I flying ace, battling his nemesis, Manfred von Richtofen (Germany's Red Baron) in dogfight after dogfight (pun intended). The gospel-tinged "Suppertime" best showcased Reaves' strong and vibrant singing voice.

In the end, all recognize that despite being prone to failure and embarrassment, Charlie Brown was a good soul after all, and the cast celebrates with the song "Happiness." Hopefully, many of the students in the production will continue their theatrical careers in high school, where Gary Fritzen will be happily waiting for them.