Photo Credit © Photo by Diane Sobolewski

                               By Ed Lieberman

Let’s face it, we live in trying times: mass shootings at home, terrorism abroad, BREXIT and . . . you know who!!! It has led that someone to adopt the slogan “Make America Great Again.” Well, the good people at the Goodspeed Opera House have taken Donald Trump up on his dare: they are taking us back to the sun-tinged time of Slinkys, Hula Hoops, see-saws, coonskin hats and . . .  ELVIS!  In other words, they’re putting on Bye Bye Birdie.

Birdie was the sleeper hit of 1960. Its creative team and cast were largely unknown: it was the first collaboration between composer Charles Strouse and lyricist Lee Adams, who went on to write Golden Boy, It’s a Bird ... It’s a Plane ... It’s Superman, and Applause, among others (Strouse also went on to write the music for Annie, which had its premiere at the Goodspeed). Birdie was also the first starring vehicle for the now-legendary Chita Rivera, Dick Van Dyke’s pre-TV breakout role and Gower Champion’s directorial debut. Both Van Dyke and Champion won Tony’s for their work in the show, and Birdie took home the Tony for Best Musical.  The original production was followed by a popular (but critically panned) 1963 film, starring Ann Margaret, and a 1995 TV-movie version, each of which lent a song to the Goodspeed production that was not in the original. 

The show was a satire on American life in 1958, a year after Elvis Presley was drafted into the Army, provoking a media circus that included his giving a farewell kiss to a specially selected member of the Women’s Army Corp. Michael Stewart conceived of a similar theme for the show, whose singer was to be named Conway Twitty -- until they found out there actually was a singer named Conway Twitty, who was threatening to sue them! The name was changed to Conrad Birdie, a play on Twitty’s name.

Birdie marked a transition in musical theater from the traditional musicals of the ‘50’s to the rock ‘n’ roll themed shows of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, such as Hair, Tommy, Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. Although it has been called the first rock ‘n’ roll show, Birdie is closer to traditional Broadway fare; it does contain two out and out rock ‘n’ roll songs (“Honestly Sincere,” and “One Last Kiss”), but they are done as parodies of the effect that the rock ‘n‘ roll music and legends of the era had on their teen-aged fans.

There are two parallel story lines in the show: an adult triangle between Conrad’s manager, Albert Peterson; his long-suffering girlfriend and secretary, Rosie Alvarez, who desperately wants Albert to leave the music business and settle down as an English teacher; and Albert’s mother, the archetypal possessive mom, for whom no girl is good enough for her Albert. The other story line concerns the impact Conrad’s induction has on the teenagers of Sweet Apple, Ohio and their families.

As the show opens, the telephone chain is abuzz with news that Kim MacAfee, President of the Sweet Apple Conrad Birdie fan club, has gotten pinned to her boyfriend, Hugo (“The Telephone Hour”). Kim tells her best friend that now that she has her man she is putting away such childish things as fan clubs, etc. (“How Lovely to Be a Woman”).

“Put on a Happy Face” Rose (Janet Dacal) and Albert (George Merrick

Meanwhile, in New York City, Conrad Birdie’s induction is causing a major crisis in the lives of Albert and Rose. They have plans to get married and settle down, but need money to do so, and Conrad’s induction will dry up the only source of income they have. Rosie comes up with a brainstorm: Albert will compose a farewell song (“One Last Kiss”) and Conrad will plant that kiss on a randomly chosen fan on the Ed Sullivan Show. The media coverage will generate sales of the record, so that Rose can finally pry Albert from the grip of his mother.

The randomly selected recipient of the kiss turns out to be Kim, who immediately forgets all of her womanly pursuits, much to the chagrin of Hugo. When Birdie arrives in Sweet Apple the whole town turns out to greet him. He sings “Honestly Sincere,” which so inflames the passions of the people of the town that at the end of the song, everyone (including the Mayor’s wife) has fainted! In the run-up to the farewell kiss ceremony, Conrad stays in the MacAfee home, much to the chagrin of Mr. MacAfee, who runs a typical patriarchal middle class home with his wife and two children.

“We’re going to be on Ed Sullivan…” Warren Kelley, Donna English, Tristen Buettel, and Ben Stone-Zelman (front

Conrad’s boorish behavior around the house has Mr. MacAfee ready to prevent Kim from participating in the event  . . . until Albert promises to put the MacAfees on the Sullivan Show, as well. That prompts Mr. MacAfee to launch into what is one of the Broadway’s classic tributes to popular culture, “Hymn for a Sunday Evening.”  As the first act ends, Conrad sings “One Last Kiss” but is knocked unconscious by Hugo before he can bestow the Last Kiss. The second act is concerned mainly with tying up the loose ends of the first act, and resolving Albert and Rosie’s relationship.

Parts of the show have not aged well, as they harken back to stereotypes not acceptable in our (pardon me, Mr. Trump) PC times. For example, feminists will not like the lyrics to “How Lovely to Be a Woman” (“How lovely to be a woman and have one job to do: To pick out a boy and train him and then when you are through. You’ve made him the man you want him to be.”). Likewise, Albert’s overbearing mother doesn’t just dislike Rose because she wants to marry Albert, but because she’s “Spanish.” There is also the fact that many of today’s theatergoers may not know -- or remember -- much about the two cultural icons celebrated in the show: Elvis and Ed Sullivan.  Other themes in the show, however, are timeless, especially its parody of teenagers’ addiction to pop music and its purveyors; the music may have changed, but the adulation is still there (how else to explain Justin Bieber?!?).

In any event, the show does stand on its own, cultural references or no. The score

includes several classic tunes: the aforementioned “Telephone Hour,” “Hymn for a Sunday Evening,” “Put on a Happy Face,” and “Kids,” among others. These are delivered by a wonderfully cheerful and talented cast, abetted by an innovative creative team. First, the cast: Janet Dacal, is terrific in the role of Rosie, originated by Chita Rivera. She can dance with the best of them . . . and act, as well (although, like Janet Leigh in the movie version, were it not for the show-stopping “Spanish Rose” number, one might not notice that she is “Spanish”). George Merrick is likeable as Albert, in much the same pleasant vein as Dick Van Dyke. Tristen Buettel is a better fit for Kim than Ann Margaret was in the movie. Alex Walton is appropriately confused and frustrated as Kim’s boyfriend, Hugo. Rhett Guter has Elvis’ lip curl and swaying hip movements down pat, literally mesmerizing the girls (and many audience members) in the “Honestly Sincere” number. Warren Kelly and Donna English, as the elder MacAfees, are terrific, portraying the bewilderment parents of the era must have experienced watching their daughters literally swoon for their rock heroes. Mr. Kelley, especially, grows on you. His transformation from gruff authority figure to  starry-eyed fan when told that he would be on the Ed Sullivan Show was magical, mirroring that of Kim when she is told that she was to be the recipient of Conrad Birdie’s kiss. Ben Stone-Zelman, as Kim’s “mature” younger brother, was adorable, especially in “Kids.”. Kristine Zbornik, as Mae Peterson, Albert’s father, steals every scene she is in. Perhaps recognizing what a gem she has in Ms. Zbornik, Director Jenn Thompson added a song from the TV movie that was written for the role: ”A Mother Doesn’t Matter Anymore,” in the manner of other discarded-mother songs, like “Rose’s Turn” in Gypsy. Ms. Zbornik knocks it out of the park!  Finally, a shoutout must be given to Brittany Nicholas and Dorcas Leung, as two of the excellent ensemble of teenaged girls.

The creative team of Director Jenn Thompson and Choreographer Patricia Wilcox deserve special mention for having tweaked the story line somewhat, changing the order of some scenes and, as mentioned, importing some songs not in the original show, including the title song, written for the film version. Especially impressive is Ms. Wilcox’s staging of “Honestly Sincere,” which has the whole cast, both adults and teens onstage. The Goodspeed has a famously small stage, and it is always interesting to see how they cope with accommodating a large production number. In this case, they placed several of the teens in the aisles, and it worked to perfection. Tobin Ost’s sets, as lit by Phillip Rosenberg, portray mid-century suburbia, and David Toser’s costumes capture the clothing of the time. Special mention must be made of Daniel Brodie’s projections of television images of everyday life in the ‘50’s on the curtain preceding the show, which set the mood of the audience for what was to come.  

Bye Bye Birdie is at the Goodspeed Opera House, 4 Main Street, East Haddam, CT, through September 8, 2016.

Box Office: 860-873-8668; or online at www. goodspeed.org.

SPECIAL NOTE: There will be a special autism-friendly performance on Saturday, September 3^rd, at 3:00 pm, for audience members “on the autism spectrum or who have other sensory issues, such as PTSD. At this performance, the theatre environment will be altered, providing a safe, friendly, comfortable and judgment-free zone that is welcoming for all.”