Step back into the fabulous 1950’s with “Bye Bye Birdie” at the Lyric Theatre, a musical comedy classic that’s full of rock-n-roll, teenage romance, and small town hilarity.
The show, set in 1958, was originally titled “Let’s Go Steady.” It follows the lead characters of Albert Peterson and his secretary/girlfriend Rosie Alvarez. Albert, a former aspiring English teacher, is a music agent in New York, whose biggest client is an Elvis Presley-type star named Conrad Birdie. (The character was based on both Elvis and Conway Twitty, who early in his career was a rock-and-roll singer. In fact the character’s name, Conrad Birdie, is a twist on the name Conway Twitty.) Birdie gets drafted by the Army (just as Elvis did), which depresses Albert because that will greatly hurt his revenues. Rosie has the idea of raising big money by staging an elaborate “going-away” event for Conrad, culminating with him singing a song called “One Last Kiss,” and planting one last kiss – on TV – on a lucky teenage girl, Kim, in Ohio just before he leaves for the Army. As you might expect, things do not all go according to plan! All the screaming teenagers in Sweet Apple, Ohio are super-excited, but when Conrad arrives, chaos ensues, turning the town upside-down, and testing the patience of both parents and teens.
Albert Peterson, the central character of the story, is neurotic, weak, and easily manipulated by his mother. Rosie is an efficient secretary, but depressed about her eight years with Albert, and no wedding ring to show for it. Conrad Birdie, a rock-and-roll superstar, has an implied checkered past and an unpredictable personality. Kim MacAfee, the girl chosen to receive Birdie’s last kiss, is a precocious teenager and President of the local Conrad Birdie Fan Club. Her father Harry MacAfee is a befuddled and bad-tempered World War II veteran who is utterly dismayed at the Baby Boomer generation.
The show includes comedy, dancing, and songs including “Put On a Happy Face” and “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?”.
The lead actors in the play are: Joseph Dennis (Albert Peterson); Cathryn Smith (Rosie Alvarez); Alexander Glass (Conrad Birdie); Laira Card (Kim MacAfee); Jeff Woods (Mr. Harry MacAfee); Sarah Speegle (Mrs. Doris MacAfee); Elijah Speegle (Randolph MacAfee, Kim’s little brother); Christopher Freeland (Hugo Peabody, Kim’s boyfriend); and Lasha Dennis (Mrs. Mae Peterson, Albert’s mother).
Director Shannon Lee expressed her enthusiasm about the show: “I grew up on this show. I watched it when I was a little girl and absolutely loved it. I have wanted to direct it for years. So getting the opportunity to do this has been wonderful. This group (the cast) is wonderful. One of the cool things about community theatre is that it brings together people from all walks of life, and they work together for a common goal. I think they are doing a great job. The talent that Brownwood has is coming out in all ages. Our oldest member of the company is 83, and our youngest member is eleven. That’s really a neat thing – to be able to incorporate all those generations in a classic story like this.”
“Bye Bye Birdie” will play at the Lyric Theatre this weekend only, with two shows on Saturday and two on Sunday, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. each day. Tickets may be purchased online at: www.BrownwoodLyricTheatre.com.
Pictures below were taken at the dress rehearsal. Also, “Bye Bye Birdie” was performed at Brownwood High School in both 1966 and 1975. Photos from those productions are also below.
