Chapter 17: We're All Stars,Charlie Brown!

As a result of Snoopy and Woodstock practically getting themselves hammered harder than they ever had before thanks to the bar they typically went to having an all you can drink root beer binge,Andy and the rest of the beagle's siblings ended up having to drag both of them home at 1:00 in the morning and also drive everyone to the theater the next day. After Snoopy and Woodstock finally managed to sober themselves up after Lucy had dumped a bucket of ice cold water on them,everyone was now ready to start preparations for their very first show that would be held that very same night. Everyone had completely put their full A game into their last day of rehearsal and they were 100% determined to have their first show be as perfect and mind blowing as possible,because if they wanted the crowd to come back for their second show that would be held only a short while after,then they would have to MAKE them want to come back for seconds.

However while everyone else was practicing in the theater,James,Snoopy and the rest of his family however had instead been given the task of selling tickets and doing general promotion for the show outside,which of course involved Snoopy dressing up as Santa Clause and relentlessly ringing a small bell for what felt like an eternity while James,Spike,Olaf,Andy,Marbles and Belle merely spung and set up signs around town that let people know about the show.

Pretty soon however everyone's last day of rehearsal and preparation would come to an end and would instead be replaced with show night,and James and the beagles certainly did a good job of promoting it since loads and loads of people were pouring into the auditorium seats,and they were even buying small bags and tubs of roasted acorns and popcorm that Ed had made. Aside from Woodstock and Amy,the rest of the birds were busy tuning up all of the instruments down below by the stage as they would be the symphony orchestra that would perform the music to the songs,and the rest of the gang was getting themselves ready for the show backstage.

"Oh boy,looks like we got ourselves a full house tonight." Peppermint Patty wolf whistled in awe as she peeped outside the curtain to see that almost all of the seats in the auditorium were completely filled before Charlie Brown joined her and gasped in bewilderment while he peeped outside the right end of the curtain "Oh you're right Patty,I haven't seen a theater this packed in a long time. I can only imagine how long it's gonna take for all of us to count the money after the show."

"Well the way I see it Chuck,the longer it takes for us to count the money,the better,since that basically means our nightly haul is bigger." Peppermint Patty shrugged her arms and enthusiastically remarked as she turned to the right to see that Charlie Brown was already dressed up in one of the suits that the girls had made to which she gasped and complimented the boy while she walked up to him "Whoa there,you look positively dashing Chuck. I never thought that you of all people would look good in a suit and top hat." before Charlie Brown got a little red in the face and timidly complimented her back "Y-you look good too Patty,I mean I know you're not in your show clothes yet but,I have noticed that you spruced yourself up a little for the show."

"Well I'm just glad that someone finally decided to bring up it up,you sly dog." Patty chuckled and stated in relief that someone noticed her slightly combed hair and choice to actually wear dress shoes for once instead of just sandals as she lightly nudged Charlie Brown on the shoulder before Marcie suddenly walked up to them and stated in slight confusion "I don't mean to try and raise any alarm sir,but I've noticed that there seem to be plenty of cameramen in the audience." to which Freida nodded her head and added when she overheard the remark "Yeah and there are also some news vans and reporters outside."

Charlie Brown and Patty were of course very confused and put off by this sudden bit of news as the former raised an eyebrow and stammered "C-cameras? Reporters? What are they doing here?" before the latter added equally as confused "Man are some people so desperate for a story that they'd resort to spying on us?" to which the voice of James suddenly shook his head and disagreed when he walked up to the four of them and joined the conversation "Actually no. Y-you see,I MAY have taken out another loan from the bank and asked the news to cover and show it on national TV."

"What?!" Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown both exclaimed in utter shock that James had managed to get their show to be broadcast live on TV and be covered by the news before James grew a little bit of a nervous grin and timidly asked "I-is there something wrong?" to which Patty shook her head and fiercely denied it "Something wrong?! No way James,that's very awesome of you to get our talents be shown on national television! Nice going there!"

Afterwards James felt his face become a little hot as he chuckled and nervously brushed his deed aside like it was nothing "I-it's really nothing you fellas,I just thought that the more attention we got,the better things would generally work out." before Patty grabbed him by the head and gave him a noogie while she remarked in awe "You know I never thought I'd be saying this a second time,but I'm actually glad that the bank has gone and come through for us."

"Thanks a lot for all your help and promotion James,we really appreciate it." Freida happily thanked James for all his help with the show after Patty's full assault on his head had come to a close to which Marcie and Charlie Brown smiled and nodded their heads in agreement,making James smile yet again as he straightened out his hair and clothes.


However it was then and there that their friendly little discussion suddenly came to an end when Franklin came running up to them with a clipboard in hand and frantically announced nearly out of breath "It's almost time for the show you guys,you all best get yourselves ready because I highly doubt that crowd and those reporters out there are gonna want to wait a long time." to which Charlie Brown got a very determined look on his face and obliged "Sure thing Franklin,come on,lets round everyone up and get this show started."

Afterwards Charlie Brown,Marcie,Franklin,Freida,Patty and James headed to the middle of the backstage area where everyone else was lollygagging around and getting themselves ready as the round headed boy cleared his throat and called out "Group meeting everyone! Group meeting!" to which the rest of the gang stopped what they were doing and gathered round the boy before he announced "Franklin has just come to me and said that it's almost time to start the show,and before the rest of y'all go out to finish getting ready,I just want to say that I'm really glad that we have made it this far in planning this show. Because right now we have a huge crowd of theater goers,families,news reporters and a whole lot of people at home waiting to be amazed,and as I stand here before you tonight,all I ask is…..are you ready to put on a show?!"

"Yeah!" The rest of the gang cheered in pure excitement for the show to come as Lucy firmly added in determination "Tonight we're gonna make enough money to pay the bank twice over! And even if we somehow don't,we still got ourselves another show to do! This is gonna be a piece of cake!" before Charlie Brown chuckled and cheerfully suggested "Alright then gang,let's all get ourselves ready and put on the best dang show that Sparkyville has ever seen!" to which everyone cheered yet again even louder than before as they all headed off to the dressing rooms to prepare and get ready,with the exception of Linus however who merely walked up to Charlie Brown and happily reassured the boy "This is gonna work Charlie Brown,I promise. We've come too far with this whole crusade of ours for it not to."

Afterwards Charlie Brown's enthusiastic and uplifted grin slowly started to morph into a slightly weary frown as he sighed and retorted with a little bit of concern in his voice "I really hope so Linus,because I don't know what we're gonna do if it doesn't." before Linus lightly chuckled and tried to lighten up the mood "Well,if we need to find another way to pay off the bank,then that's just what we'll do,but I honestly have a gut feeling that this is all we'll need to do." to which Charlie Brown felt his spirit be lifted back up while he nodded his head in agreement with a determined look on his face.


Sometime later after everyone had finally managed to get themselves ready for the show,Linus slowly stepped on out from behind the curtain and onto the stage with his suit and hat on as the murmuring and chatty crowd quickly silenced themselves and allowed the boy to speak before he cleared his throat and cheerfully announced while a spotlight shined on him "Good evening and or morning to you all,my name is Linus Van Pelt,and it is my pleasant duty to welcome you all here,on behalf of Sparkyville,and all the musicians,dancers and performers,whose combined talents all went into the show you are all about to see. What you are all going to see tonight are three musical performances that fully embrace what it means to sing and dance and express yourself through the art of musical theater,and whether you are right here in this very theater or if you're watching this at home on your TV,all I can assure you is that your experience will be nothing short of the best that we can offer,and now without further ado…..please enjoy the show."

Afterwards Linus gave a short bow and quickly headed to the sidelines of the stage as the crowd gave a huge round of applause while the curtains slowly lifted up to reveal none other than Rebecca standing in complete darkness by herself,and as it was to be expected she was wearing one of the many dresses and tiaras that she and some of the other girls had made the day before.

Rebecca: Uncle Gutenberg was a bookworm,and he lived on Charing Cross.

The memory of his volumes brings a smile.

He would read me lots of stories,when he wasn't on the sauce.

Now I'd like to share the wisdom,of my favorite bibliophile.

Afterwards Snoopy,Spike,Olaf,Andy,Marbles and Belle came quickly sliding by onto the stage with pitch black suits,top hats and canes as the stage fully lit up to reveal everyone else in the gang aside from Ed in similar outfits and dresses,along with huge painted cardboard props of classic books from Peter Pan,Alice In Wonderland,Narnia and Harry Potter.

He said a cover is not the book,so open it up and take a look.

'Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook.

Chapter titles are like signs,and if you read between the lines.

You'll find your first impression was mistook.

For a cover is nice,but a cover is not the book.

Kids: *Inane scatting.*

"Why Rebecca,could you give us an example?" Scheroder politely asked with a toothy and smug grin as Rebecca nodded her head and cheerfully obliged "Certainly."

Rebecca: Nelly Rebitta was made of wood,but what could not be seen was though.

Her trunk up top was barren,well her roots were lush and green.

So in spring when Mr Hickory saw her blossoms bloomin' there.

He took fruit despite her bark,and now there's seedlings everywhere.

Suddenly Ed came ascending down from the ceiling with a hook attached to him and grabbed Rebecca by the arm as they began to fly around the stage.

Rebecca And Ed: Which proves a cover is not the book,so open it up and take a look.

'Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook.

Ed: Chapter titles are like signs.

Rebecca: And if you read between the lines.

Rebecca And Ed: You'll find your first impression was mistook.

For a cover is nice,but the cover is not the book.

"Should we do the one about the wealthy widow?" Ed gleefully asked as he and Rebecca came back down to the stage before the girl happily agreed with the idea "Oh by all means." while Ed cheerfully replied "Always loved that one." to which the girl enthusiastically suggested "Oh go on then!"

Ed: Lady Hyacinth McCall brought all her treasures to a reef.

Rebecca: Where she only wore a smile.

Ed: Plus two feathers,and a leaf.

Rebecca: So no one tried to rob her,'cause she barely wore a stitch.

Ed: But when you're in your birthday suit.

Rebecca And Ed: There ain't much there to show you're rich.

Everyone: Oh a cover is not the book,so open it up and take a look.

'Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook.

*Inane scatting.*

Rebecca And Ed: You'll find your first impression was mistook.

Ya-da-da-da.

For a cover is nice,but a cover is not the book.

"Oh give us the one about the dirty rascal,why don't ya?" Rebecca suddenly perked up and cheerfully suggested as Ed grew a slight look of concern and asked "Isn't that one a bit long?" only for Rebecca to scoff and insist that he do it "Well the quicker you're into it,the quicker you're out of it." to which Ed shrugged his arms and happily obliged "Alright then."

Ed: Once upon a time in a nursery rhyme,there was a castle with a king hiding in a wing.

'Cause he never went to school to learn a single thing.

He had scepters and swords and a parliament of lords.

But on the inside he was sad,egad! Because he never had a wisdom for numbers.

A wisdom for words,though his crown was quite immense.

His brain was smaller than a bird's.

So the queen of the nation,made a royal proclamation to the misses and the mssrs.

The more or lesses.

"Bring me all the land's professors."

Then she went to the hairdressers.

And they came from the east,and they came from the south.

From each college they poured knowledge from their brains into his mouth.

But the king couldn't learn,so each professor met their fate.

For the queen had their heads removed and placed upon the gate.

And on that date,I state their wives all got a note.

Their mate was now the late great.

But then suddenly one day a stranger started in to sing.

He said "I'm the dirty rascal and I'm here to teach the king."

And the queen clutched her jewels,for she hated royal fools,but this fool had some rules they really oughta teach in schools.

Like 'You'll be a happy king if you enjoy the things you've got."

"You should never try to be the kind of person that you're not."

So they sang and they laughed,for the king had found a friend.

And they ran into a rainbow for the story's perfect end.

So the moral is you mustn't let the outside be the guide.

For it's not so cut and dried well unless it's Dr Jekyll then you better hide,petrified.

No the truth can't be denied as I have now testified.

All that really counts and matters is the special stuff inside!

"You did it!" Rebecca and the rest of the gang exclaimed in shock and awe that Ed was able to finish the story as the crowd briefly erupted with cheers and applause.

Everyone: Oh a cover is not the book,so open it up and take a look.

'Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook.

Rebecca: So please listen to what we've said.

Ed: And open a book tonight in bed.

Rebecca And Ed: So one more time before we get the hook.

Ed: Sing it out strong!

Kids: A cover is nice!

Rebecca: Please take our advice.

Kids: A cover is nice!

Ed: Or you'll pay the price.

Everyone: A cover is nice,but a cover is not the book!

Immediately afterwards the entire crowd of people exploded into a huge assortment of cheers and applause as the gang of performers graciously bowed before the curtain came rolling down,quickly followed by Linus coming back out and announcing with a chuckle "Well that sure was a nice way to start off the show huh? Well that was only the first of our three performances for tonight and I can assure you that it only gets better and better from here. Please take the time to enjoy our next performance,and I'm glad to announce that this next one is a full on solo. Please enjoy." before he bowed once again and the curtains came up a second time to reveal Marcie standing a few feet away from a microphone while the crowd applauded yet again.

Marcie definitely looked like she was feeling a tad bit nervous about her performance,every other time she had done something on stage either had to do with a school assembly or just her being a second banana to someone else that wouldn't generally be focused on,like the time Peppermint Patty had her be a karate assistant for her performance at the school talent show. But this time it was completely different,now SHE was the main star of the performance now and it clearly made her a little uncomfortable as she timidly grabbed the microphone out the holder and nervously thought to herself "Good grief why did I not think this through? There's so many of them out there,why is this only happening to me NOW?"

Marcie's obvious case of stage fright was starting to get so bad that she almost considered just running off the stage and letting someone else quickly take her place,but it was when she noticed in her peripheral vision that Charlie Brown,Peppermint Patty,Snoopy,Rebecca and Linus were all looking at her with encouraging smiles from the sidelines that she suddenly felt herself become a lot more confident and uplifted about the whole thing as she grew a faint smile herself,tightened her grip on the microphone and took a deep breath while Scheroder started to play his piano from the orchestra area down below.

Marcie: I'm trying to hold my breath.

Let it stay this way,can't let this moment end.

You set off a dream with me,getting louder now,can you hear it echoing?

Take my hand,will you share this with me?

'Cause darling without you.

All the shine of a thousand spotlights.

All the stars we steal from the night sky will never be enough.

Never be enough.

Towers of gold are still too little.

These hands could hold the world but it'll never be enough.

Never be enough,for me.

Never,never. Never,never.

Never,for me,for me.

Never enough! Never enough!

Never enough! For me! For me! For me!

All the shine of a thousand spotlights.

All the stars we steal from the night sky will never be enough.

Never be enough!

Towers of gold are still too little.

These hands could hold the world but it'll,never be enough.

Never be enough,for me!

Never,never!

Never,never!

Never,for me,for me.

Never enough! Never,never!

Never enough! Never,never!

Never enough!

For me,for me,for me!

For me.

The entire auditorium was left with nothing but complete silence after Marcie's performance had come to a close,in fact it was so dead silent that for a split second she thought that maybe they didn't like her performance as she grew a somber look on her face and slowly hung her head. However that great sense of defeat and unaccomplishment inside her would quickly be washed away when she suddenly heard Peppermint Patty,Charlie Brown,Linus,Rebecca and Snoopy cheering and applauding from the sidelines which was quickly followed by the rest of the audience joining in as the girl slowly lifted her head up and saw the entire audience roaring with praise before she grew a small smile and even started to tear up a little bit while she bowed before the crowd.

"T-thank you all." Marcie meekly thanked the audience for their support while she slowly bowed in front of them before she slowly headed over to the sidelines where the others were to which Peppermint Patty happily remarked in awe as she gave her a hug "Way to go Marcie,you did great!"

"Y-you really think so sir?" Marcie chuckled and timidly asked in awe that Patty actually liked her performance as Charlie Brown scoffed and cheerfully confirmed that he did while Patty let her go "Of course we do Marcie,I think there was a reason that Snoopy personally picked you to perform this song." before the dog in question happily nodded his head in agreement and gave Marcie a hug as well to which Rebecca lastly added "You did a great job out there Marcie. That was really brave of you to go out like that."

"Rebecca's right,you really came through for us tonight." Linus enthusiastically agreed with Charlie Brown and the others as Marcie got a little red in the face and happily replied "Thanks everyone,I did my best and it seems it really paid off. But I guess you and Freida are up next then Charles,I hope you two do a good job with wrapping up the show." before Charlie Brown sighed and retorted a little nervous himself "I hope so too Marcie,a bad ending can really leave a sour taste in everyone's mouth." to which Linus chuckled and suggested "Well why don't you two go ahead and get yourselves yourselves ready while I introduce the last song to the crowd?"

"Right." Charlie Brown nodded his head and agreed to do so before he headed to the back of the stage to prepare with Freida while Linus headed to the front of the stage for the last time and cleared his throat as the audience quieted down "Well I can certainly say that our show tonight has been nothing short of an awe inspiring experience,tonight we showed you all of our cast members coming together for a lecture in reading and literature,along with one of our very own graciously performing all by herself for the very first time,but now as we come to the very last performance of the night,why don't we give a little bit of jazz some time to shine? However before we go for the night I just want to say,thank you all for coming,and please enjoy." before he bowed yet again for the very last time and exited the stage while the curtains lifted up for one final time.


Freida was of course standing all by herself in the middle of the stage which was now filled with tall pieces of cardboard that were all painted and cut out to look like lit city buildings in the dead of night,with there also being a huge painted backdrop of what looked like Hollywood at sunset in the background. The audience was actually pretty impressed by the new design of the set as they ooed at the sight of it while Scheroder started to play his piano in the orchestra area down below.

Freida: *Scatting.*

I think about that day,I left him at a Greyhound station west of Sante Fe.

We were seventeen,but he was sweet and it was true,still I knew what I had to do.

'Cause I just knew.

Summer Sunday nights,we'd sink into our seats right as they dimmed out all the lights.

A technicolor world made out of music and machine,it called me to be on that screen.

And live inside each scene.

Suddenly Charlie Brown came waltzing out of a small doorway from one of the cardboard city buildings and joined in on the act.

Charlie Brown And Freida: Without a nickel to my name,hopped a bus,here I came.

Could be brave or just insane,we'll have to see.

Freida: 'Cause maybe in that sleepy town,he'll sit one day,the lights are down.

He'll see my face and think of how he used to know me.

Afterwards the rest of the gang suddenly emerged from the other cardboard city buildings through the doorways and even the windows ways as they also joined Charlie Brown and Freida's act.

Everyone: Climb these hills,I'm reaching for the heights.

And chasing all the lights that shine.

And when they let you down,you'll get up off the ground.

'Cause morning rolls around and it's another day of sun.

Charlie Brown: I hear 'em every day,the rhythms in the canyons that'll never fade away.

The ballads in the barrooms left by those who came before,they say "You gotta want it more."

So I bang on every door.

Freida: And even when the answer's no or when my money's running low.

The dusty mic and neon glow,are all I need.

Charlie Brown: And someday as I sing my song,a small town kid will come along.

Charlie Brown And Freida: That'll be the thing to push him on and go,go.

Everyone: Climb these hills,I'm reaching for the heights.

And chasing all the lights that shine.

And when they let you down,you'll get off the ground.

'Cause morning rolls around and it's another day of sun.

Afterwards everyone started to dance like they had never danced before which included them all performing their trademark moves such as Shermy performing the zombie and Snoopy jumping up in the air repeatedly with Woodstock,Amy,Jaser and his family,all the while Scheroder and the orchestra down below continued to go completely nuts with the music.

Freida: And when they let you down.

The morning rolls around.

Everyone: It's another day of sun.

It's another day of sun

It's another day of sun.

It's another day of sun.

Just another day of sun.

It's another day of sun.

Another day has just begun.

It's another day of sun.

Animals: *Imitating car noises.*

Everyone: It's another day of sun!

After the very last performance for the show had finally come to a close,the audience absolutely erupted and shook the theater with a huge standing ovation and barrage of cheering as everyone up on the stage slowly and gracefully bowed with gratitude,with Sally and Lucy even managing to catch some flowers that people from the audience had thrown onto the stage.

After a few more moments of them listening to the audience's constant praise,Linus finally decided that it was time to wrap up the show for the night as he stepped forward and announced as the audience quieted themselves down "Thank you all for coming everyone,we all had a very good time showing you all what we are capable of doing in the world of musical theater,but this certainly isn't the last time you'll be seeing us,because we actually got ourselves one last encore coming sometime next week! We hope to see you all there along with everyone else watching at home,but in the meantime,thank you and goodnight Sparkyville!" before the curtains came rolling down and the audience cheered yet again while they begun to slowly but surely leave their seats.

It was pretty safe to say at this point that the gang's first show was an overwhelming success and after everything they had gone through to get said show off the ground,that was more than just good news to them,it was a miracle.

"A Cover Is Not The Book." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Music And Lyrics By Scott Whitman And Marc Shaiman.

"Never Enough." Copyright Of Atlantic Records. Music And Lyrics By Benj Pasek And Justin Paul.

"Another Day Of Sun." Copyright Of Interscope Records. Music By Justin Hurwitz And Lyrics By Benj Pasek And Justin Paul.