Saratoga High School's honors drama class challenges students who have been involved in drama all four years to put all the skills they have acquired to the test. They are encouraged to go it on their own and choose their own play or musical--and be responsible for coordinating literally every aspect themselves.

And we do mean everything.

They run the auditions and pick the cast. For musicals, they arrange and conduct the entire orchestra, without a music teacher in sight. They build the sets and find all the props. They design the lights. They hook up the microphones. They publicize the show, and they sell the tickets.

As for the students putting on this week's senior production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, it sounds like they've got it all under control.

Danielle Coleman, the show's director and choreographer, has known for years exactly what show she would put on when she became a senior and enrolled in the honors drama class.

"I really wanted to do You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown," she says. "I knew I wanted to do it since I was in a senior production in my sophomore year, so I've been thinking about it ever since."

True to her word, toward the end of her junior year this past spring, Danielle started laying the groundwork for her production of the beloved, comic strip-based musical. She held auditions in May, and picked her managing partners, all seniors--Michael Germeraad is the stage manager in charge of the technical crew, with Lauren Workman assisting him; and Sue-Lin Chene is the musical director. Danielle says Michael has been working wonders with the show's set, making it exactly what she had dreamed of.

Sue-Lin says she was quite intimidated at such a large responsibility, but with hard work, it all seems to be coming together.

"I've never been such a big part of a musical production before," she says, adding that the most she's ever done is perform small roles in such school shows as Guys and Dolls and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. "This year, Danielle asked me not only to play piano as part of the pit orchestra, but also to lead the entire musical direction of the whole show."

Therefore, Sue-Lin not only performs one of the most important parts of the show's music--the show's theme song is one of the most recognizable piano tunes ever written--but she is also in charge of teaching all the singers their vocal parts and rehearsing the entire orchestra.

Sue-Lin remembers being overwhelmed in the beginning.

"Danielle handed me the piano conductor score, and it said the orchestra should have eight or nine members," she recalls. Sue-Lin knew back then that she would only have a few musicians.

Well, part of being in charge is having to make executive decisions when a problem arises--so Sue-Lin did just that and called in some reinforcements.

"I recruited my friend Jennifer Chen, who's also a senior and plays piano, and we took the musical score and divided it into two piano parts, so it would be easier for us to play. There was no way I could do it all by myself."

Now, both Jennifer and Sue-Lin play piano in the show, and seniors Austin Chu on bass and Mike Sotriadis on percussion round out what became a quartet for the show's orchestra.

Sue-Lin says she and Jennifer worked for an entire month over their summer vacation, perfecting the musical score.

"This is really new to all of us, but in general, things have come along really well, and we're excited to open the show," she says, looking back on the whole journey. "It's kind of nerve-racking having such a big responsibility, but I'm excited to see how it goes."

Danielle can certainly sympathize, tackling two major positions at once by herself.

"I've done about 30 shows [throughout my theater career] and most of them have been musicals. So I really wanted to direct one, but I knew I also wanted to choreograph," she says. Danielle has served as assistant choreographer for several of Saratoga High's musicals, such as Be Aggressive, a play about cheerleading; Metamorphoses in 2004; and this past spring's production of Oklahoma! For Oklahoma! Danielle performed the solo dance that ended the first act, as the character Dream Laurey, and won special recognition in American Musical Theater of San Jose's High School Honor Awards.

Seniors James Fung and Sonnet Sparacino play the show's two loveable main characters, Charlie Brown and Lucy.

James says Charlie Brown proved to be much more of a complex character than he expected.

"At first I was having problems because Charlie Brown is an introvert and worries a lot about life itself. But the more I read the script and watched the cartoons and read the comic strip, I was able to find qualities that I related with," he says. "I got the feeling that Charlie Brown actually could have been a real person, and it made it a lot easier to play him."

Sonnet had no such trouble with her character.

"Lucy is actually one of my favorite parts I've ever played. It's such a great character, I can really connect to her. I've just totally fallen in love with the character. She's just so bossy and needs everything done her way, but deep down she's got feelings, which show through sometimes," Sonnet says. She adds that Lucy's part in the show really allows her to let loose and have some fun. "I've got really great lines, there's really great songs. And I get to do a lot of screaming, which is really fun."

Despite the challenge, James says it's all been worth it.

"It's Charlie Brown, it's something everyone knows and everyone really likes. Everyone has an interest in it," he says. "I'm really glad I auditioned."

In addition to Charlie and Lucy, Danielle says the show traditionally includes the characters of Linus, Schroeder the piano player, Snoopy the dog and Charlie Brown's sister, Sally. In order to allow for a bigger cast, Danielle decided to use a little bit of artistic license--a privilege all directors get--and added the characters of Woodstock, Snoopy's winged friend, and Harriet, another bird who is friends with Woodstock. Danielle says Harriet isn't seen in any of the Peanuts cartoons but has regularly appeared in the comic strip over the years. Donning her choreographer hat, Danielle designed a special dance number for the two birds.

Danielle says the show was not allotted a lot of rehearsal time--only four weeks--but that she is confident the production will come off smoothly. She says it has been a lot to take on, but it's all worth it, to see her own show come together from scratch, and have it be the show she has always wanted to do.

"It's quite a workload," she admits. "But I've always wanted to do You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. I love that it's a family show, anyone can come to it and enjoy it. Everyone can laugh and have a good time. I love the music and I love the characters."

And it's certainly a dream come true for this Saratoga senior.

"You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" is presented at 7 p.m. on Sept. 22 and 8 p.m. on Sept. 23 and 24. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for general admission. They are available for purchase at the Saratoga High School Activities Office or at the door.