Charlie Brown comes to town

Cast members each get to shine in the production at the Sharon Playhouse, running until Sept. 29.
Matthew Kreta
Cast members each get to shine in the production at the Sharon Playhouse, running until Sept. 29.
The Sharon Playhouse opened the final production of their main season, “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” on Friday, Sept 20. The show will be open until Sept 29 and has a run time of one hour and forty minutes.
The popular “Peanuts” comic strip upon which the show is based lends an inspiration far beyond the characters and their likenesses. The vast majority of the play flows quickly from scene to scene. Most scenes are structured like a four panel comic strip and no central plot point in the show stays for more than a few minutes. These quick changes are intermingled with delightful musical numbers that cover a number of different styles in nearly every song, from opera, slow ballads, dream ballets and high energy showstoppers. Ultimately, this heavily works in the musical adventure’s favor. This snappy, ever shifting approach to the show gives the audience plenty of different vignettes to see these iconic characters interact in. There are plenty of laughs and a full range of antics to enjoy.
Every minute of the show is absolutely packed with charm, thanks in no small part to the Sharon Playhouse’s efforts by its cast and crew. The set is stylized with bright colors and sharp shadowing like a cartoon, and the iconic costumes of the “Peanuts” gang keep each cast member distinct and really make them show against the backdrop. Charlie Brown’s striped shirt finds its way into several layers of the set design as well, contributing to the angles of the set as well as some clever lighting.
The members of the six person show each have a few moments where they really get to shine, and the simple charm of the show has clearly rubbed off on them as much as it had the audience. Daniel Plimpton (Charlie Brown), Nicolas Alan Fernandez (Snoopy), Courtney Balan (Lucy), Sammy Pignalosa (Linus), Jason Williams (Schroeder) and Hayley Podschun (Sally) each bring their all to the performance and won the hearts of the opening night crowd thoroughly. Some musical standouts include “Suppertime”, “My Blanket and Me”, “T-E-A-M” and the absolutely incredible end of Act I, “The Book Report”. Despite the hall being only about half full, the laughter and applause bouncing off the walls felt like a full house.
Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.
STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.
At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.
July transfers
79 Ernest Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 6.87 acres in 2 parcels sold to Matthew C. Marinetti for $1,225,000.
29 Drake Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2 acres sold to Harper Montgomery for $850,000.
6042 Route 82 — 4 bedroom/2 bath home on 1.09 acres sold to Spencer Thompson for $795,000.
125 Tick Tock Way — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath ranch on 1.9 acres sold to Fleur Touchard for $475,000.
August transfers
102 Prospect Hill Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 6.35 acres sold to Karl Creighton Pfister for $565,000.
252 Ernest Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage on .85 acres sold to Meg Bumie for $465,000.
1196 Bangall Amenia Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 2.16 acres sold to Roderick Alleyne for $875,000.
Hunns Lake Road (#759929) — 59.1 acres of residential land sold to Argos Farm LLC for $3,325,000.
* Town of Stanford recorded real estate transfers from July 1 to August 31 provided by Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly transfer reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access - properties with an # indicate location on Dutchess Parcel Access. Market data from One Key MLS and Infosparks .Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Harlem Valley area activity reportSept. 18 to Sept. 30.
Sept. 23 — Deputies responded to 1542 State Route 292 in the Town of Pawling for the report of a suspicious vehicle at that location. Investigation resulted in the arrest of Sebastian Quiroga, age 26, for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree. Quiroga to appear in the Town of Pawling court at a later date.
Sept. 30 — Deputies responded to Woodside Street in the Town of Pine Plains for a past-occurred verbal domestic dispute between a stepfather and stepson.Matter resolved without further police intervention.
PLEASE NOTE:All subjects arrested and charged are alleged to have committed the crime and are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are to appear in local courts later.
If you have any information relative to the aforementioned criminal cases, or any other suspected criminal activity please contact the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 845-605-CLUE (2583) or Emaildcsotips@gmail.com.All information will be kept confidential.
Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.
Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.
MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“A lot of work went into it,” said Emma Sweeney, past President of the Millbrook Garden Club, who started the local library’s initiative two years ago.
The Pollinator Pathway program is a national effort to plant native plants that native insects depend upon for sustenance and preferred plants for their own seasonal reproduction.
Jana Hogan of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Executive Director of the Pollinator Pathway program, was on hand to present a plaque to the library for its successful participation.
“A garden is not just a garden,” said garden designer Andy Durbridge of Wassaic, designer of the library’s garden. “It may serve as a model for other gardens along the line.”
Speaking to the 50 visitors at the dedication, Durbridge said that the library’s garden has a mission, that it is a working garden, planned to serve insects and birds over their seasons. The earliest plants support pollinators, while the full range of plants continues to serve the needs of those they attract, offering habitat, shelter and food.
A pollinator garden is akin to a prairie, rather than a formalized European garden, Durbridge noted.
The garden project was supported by the library’s Friends group using funds raised during the Holiday Silent Auction and ongoing book sale. A grant from the Millbrook Garden Club also provided support.