'Bye Bye Birdie' comes to the Island

The Tony-Award winning musical “Bye Bye Birdie” opens April 9 at Amelia Community Theatre. It’s a lighthearted return to the 1950s, with songs about going steady like “The Telephone Hour” and being on the Ed Sullivan Show in “Hymn for a Sunday Evening.”

“Bye Bye Birdie” begins with the announcement that teen singing idol Conrad Birdie is being drafted, a plot inspired by the U.S. Army's drafting of Elvis Presley in real life in 1957. Albert, Birdie’s songwriter and agent, faces losing a valuable client, but fortunately, Rosie, Albert’s longtime girlfriend and secretary, has a great idea for a publicity stunt to keep Birdie in the news.  They will have a contest to select a young woman from a Conrad Birdie fan club to receive “a last kiss” from Birdie on the popular Ed Sullivan television show.  Soon, Albert, Rosie, Birdie, and the press are descending on Sweet Apple, Ohio, the home of the lucky winner, Kim MacAfee.  It isn’t long before the town is in a frenzy with lovestruck teenage girls, jealous teenage boys, and shocked parents.

“Bye Bye Birdie” opened on Broadway in 1960, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adam, and book by Michael Stewart.  Dick Van Dyke, Chita Rivera, and Paul Lynde were in the original Broadway cast, with Van Dyke and Lynde also in the 1963 movie, which starred Ann-Margaret as Kim.

Director Shea Zaccaro, who is raising three teens and young adults, finds the show especially relatable. “I understand the characters’ woes about kids with their awful clothes and their rock ’n’ roll all too well,” she says. “But the story gives me comfort because it reminds me that every generation worries about the next one.”

The cast includes Alejandro Carrion-Jones, Rae Colley, Mike King, Eliot Miller, Noah Sawyers, Moira Smith, Peggy Strickland, Julia Taylor, Amelia Underwood, and Will Wiley in lead roles, plus twenty-seven additional actors in the adult and teen ensembles.

The opening night party on April 9 at 6:30 p.m. will feature show-themed complimentary treats.

Bye Bye Birdie

April 9-11, 16-18, 23-25 – 7:30 p.m.

April 12 and 19 – matinees 2 p.m.

Amelia Community Theatre

207 Cedar Street

Tickets available at Amelia Community Theatre or call ticket office at 904-261-6749