Spring musical performances underway at Mesa Verde High School

By Sara Beth Williams–
Following the closure of Theatre in the Heights last year, community theatrical performances have been a hard find in Citrus Heights — but this week, residents will find performances of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown showing at Mesa Verde High School.

In advance of a series of performances extending through March 16, the Mesa Verde Theater Department invited high school alumni on March 6 to see an exclusive preview performance of this years’ spring production.

Theater teacher and director Sean Melby led the group of high school actors in the first spring performance as the new theater teacher at Mesa Verde, following the retirement of Deni Scofield in June 2023.

See prior story: Retiring theatre teacher reflects on 30 years at Mesa Verde High School

The cast of nine high schoolers, accompanied by a live high school band, brought the nostalgic 1967 musical to life against a fully painted backdrop of sunny skies. Even Snoopy had his own doghouse to perch on top of during many scenes throughout the play.

In opening remarks before the performance, Melby acknowledged the legacy that preceded him, saying, Scofield “left some big shoes to fill, and instead of trying to fill them, I’m going to just put mine next to hers and go from there.”

In an interview with The Sentinel, Melby said he did not initially want to put on a musical during his first year at Mesa, but the kids in his classes were “begging and begging and begging” to do a musical. Melby said the students wanted to perform Footloose and Mamma Mia!, which he called “big, dancy, hard-to-sing shows.” He said he chose You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown instead because he loved the songs, and because the cast was smaller in size.

For the dress rehearsal on March 6, Melby said he came up with the idea to invite alumni for two reasons.

“I wanted a way to honor the alumni, to keep everybody in touch with everybody,” Melby said, adding that he also wanted his students to understand what it felt like to have an audience watch them perform before opening weekend. Melby said he plans to invite alumni to preview every spring show in the future years.

The rest of the musical performances will take place March 14, 15 and 16. Shows begin at 7 p.m. at Mesa Verde High School performing arts center, located at 7501 Carriage Drive in Citrus Heights. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students.