Charles M. Schulz (author)
Charles M. Schulz was born in 1922 and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. His Midwestern childhood served as the basis for his characters. Schulz, after serving in the Second World War invasion of Nazi Germany, returned to the United States and made a life as a cartoonist in northern California. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip debuted in 1950 in just seven newspapers and launched a cultural legacy. Peanuts is now the most widely syndicated comic strip appearing in over 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries reaching 350 million readers. The recipient of two Reuben Awards from the National Cartoonist Society and inductee into the Cartoonist Hall of Fame, Schulz also scripted and storyboarded numerous television specials, which earned five Emmy and two Peabody Awards. Schulz was given many different honors including the Ordre des Artes et Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture; the Lester Patrick Award (the only recipient who was not a professional hockey player); a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; and a Carnegie Hall commissioned concerto by Ellen Zwillich entitled Peanuts Gallery. By the late 1960s Peanuts soared to incredible popularity; from being a campus phenomenon in the late 1950s to a mainstream cultural powerhouse. Not only have the Charlie Brown characters become iconic to most Americans, the character's philosophic viewpoints have become a part of this nation's culture. Charles M. Schulz died in February 2002 in Santa Rosa, California.

The original book, music and lyrics for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown were done in 1967 by Clark M. Gesner. In 1999, the show was revised with new songs, new arrangements and new scenes by Andrew Lippa.

Clark Gesner
Clark Gesner was born in 1938 in Maine. After earning a Bachelors of Arts from Princeton University, Mr. Gesner began a career as a songwriter, composer and author. Joining ASCAP in 1962, his popular-song compositions included "14 Hours and 37 Minutes," "A Funny Way to Spend the Day," "The Peanut Butter Affair," "Societus Magnificat," and "Ode to a Park. In addition to You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Mr. Gesner wrote the book, music, and lyrics for Animal Fair, which premiered at the Denver Center Theatre, and with ...Nagle Jackson, Broadway's The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall. In television, he wrote for Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street, and That Was the Week That Was, and on stage for the revues of Leonard Sillman and Julius Monk. He appeared regularly in B.T. McNicholl's Musicals in Concert series, and performed in regional productions of 1776, Lend Me a Tenor, Carnival! and other musicals, as well as eight years of productions of Weston Playhouse, in Vermont. The Jell-O Is Always Red, is a revue of Mr. Gesner's cabaret and theater songs He wrote three Triangle shows, and songs for the Julius Monk revues Baker's Dozen and Bits and Pieces. Mr. Gesner died in New York City, July 2002.

Andrew Lippa
Andrew Lippa wrote the book, music and lyrics for The Wild Party, which was given its world premiere in 2000 at the Manhattan Theater Club in New York City. The Wild Party won the Outer Critics Circle Award for best Off-Broadway musical of the season and Mr. Lippa won the 2000 Drama Desk Award for best music. The show was nominated for 13 Drama Desk Awards including best new musical. Last summer saw the premiere of Mr. Lippa's A Little Princess (book and lyrics by Brian Crawley) at Theatreworks in Palo Alto, CA. In 1999 Mr. Lippa contributed three new songs to the Broadway version of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (including "My New Philosophy" for Tony-Award Winner Kristin Chenoweth) and created all new arrangements. He wrote the music and co-wrote the book (with Tom Greenwald) for john & jen, which played in New York City in 1995 at The Lamb's Theater.