Bye Bye Birdie

The year is 1958, and the much-adored rock-and-roll idol, Conrad Birdie, has been drafted into the US army. His songwriter and agent, Albert, and Albert’s secretary and some-time girlfriend, Rosie, hatch a plan for a farewell performance to take place on The Ed Sullivan Show, which they hope will help sell Birdie’s new song “One Last Kiss,” and ultimately save Almaelou records from going under. To cap off the performance, Birdie will actually give ‘one last kiss’ to Kim MacAfee, an avid member of the Conrad Birdie fan club from Sweet Apple, Ohio.
When Albert and Rosie head to Sweet Apple to prepare for Birdie’s arrival, things start to unravel. Kim’s father is starstruck at the thought of being on The Ed Sullivan Show with his daughter, and Kim’s new steady, Hugo gets jealous at the thought of Kim kissing Conrad on national television.

 

Bye Bye Birdie is famously a direct reference to Elvis Presley getting drafted in 1957 and the stir it caused.

 

Performances are at 7:00 p.m. Fri/Sat, 6:00 p.m. Sun, and with a 1-hr Theatre on the Spectrum performance on the 2nd Saturday at 2:00 p.m. 7/18 - 8/03.