Bye Bye Birdie
is a stage musical with a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.
Originally titled Let's Go Steady
, the satire on American society is set in 1958. The story was inspired by the phenomenon of popular singer Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the army in 1957. The rock star character's name, "Conrad Birdie," is word play on the name of Conway Twitty, who was expected to take the role but changed his mind. Twitty is known as a country music star but also was one of Presley's rock 'n' roll rivals in the late 1950s. The original Broadway production was a Tony Award-winning success. The show also became a popular choice for high school and college productions. [1]
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Productions
The Broadway production opened on April 14, 1960 at the
Martin Beck Theatre, transferring to the
54th Street Theatre and then the
Shubert Theatre, closing on October 7, 1961 after 607 performances. Produced by
Edward Padula and directed and
choreographed by
Gower Champion, the original cast included
Dick Van Dyke,
Chita Rivera,
Paul Lynde,
Dick Gautier,
Susan Watson,
Kay Medford and
Charles Nelson Reilly.
Reilly
understudied for Van Dyke
[2] as Albert Peterson, who periodically took vacations and returned to the leading role.
Replacements later in the run included
Gene Rayburn as Albert and
Gretchen Wyler as Rosie.
[3]
During pre-production,
Chita Rivera had taken the role of Rosie after both
Carol Haney and
Eydie Gorme turned it down, and the character's last name was changed from "Grant" to "Alvarez".
[4]
The musical opened in the
West End at
Her Majesty's Theatre in June 1961, with
Peter Marshall as Albert, Chita Rivera reprising her role as Rosie,
Angela Baddeley as Mae and
Marty Wilde as Conrad Birdie. That production ran for 268 performances.
[5]
In 1981, there was a short-lived
Broadway sequel,
Bring Back Birdie
, starring
Donald O'Connor and returning original Broadway cast member
Chita Rivera. It closed after four performances.
[6]
A U.S. tour from mid-1990 through June 1991 starred
Tommy Tune as Albert,
Ann Reinking as Rosie,
Marc Kudisch as Conrad,
Marcia Lewis as Mrs. Peterson, and
Susan Egan as Kim.
[7] [8]
The
New York City Center Encores! staged concert production ran in May 2004, with
Karen Ziemba as Rosie, Daniel Jenkins as Albert, Jessica Grové as Kim, and Bob Gaynor as Conrad.
[9]
An abridged version of
Bye Bye Birdie
was presented at the
Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, October 2-5, 2008, as part of their
Broadway: Three Generations
production.
Laura Osnes played Kim and
Leslie Kritzer played Rosie.
[10]
Among those who have appeared in various stage productions of
Bye Bye Birdie
are
Steve Zahn,
Doris Roberts,
Rue McClanahan,
Gary Sandy,
Kim Darby, and
Gene Rayburn.
A non-
equity production toured the USA and Canada in the spring of 2009 with Windwood Theatricals, produced by Paul Bartz. It starred Regina Gatti as Rosie, Jonathan Van Dyke as Albert, Lara Hayhurst as Kim, and Eli Budwill as Conrad.
Roundabout Theatre Company has announced plans for a revival of the musical on Broadway, scheduled to open at the newly-built
Henry Miller's Theatre in September 2009 (previews).
Robert Longbottom has been announced as the director-choreographer, with
John Stamos and
Gina Gershon starring and
Nolan Gerard Funk as Conrad.
[11]
Synopsis
Act One
Agent and songwriter Albert Peterson finds himself in trouble when hip-thrusting
rock and roll superstar Conrad Birdie is drafted into the Army. Albert's secretary and sweetheart, Rose Alvarez, comes up with a last-ditch publicity stunt to have Conrad Birdie record and premiere a song before he is sent overseas. She makes Albert promise to give up the music business and to start teaching English at schools. ("An English Teacher.") They plan to have Birdie sing Albert's new song "One Last Kiss" and give one lucky girl from his fan club a real "last kiss" on
The Ed Sullivan Show
before going into the Army.
The lucky girl chosen randomly from Conrad's national fan club is fifteen-year-old Kim MacAfee from Sweet Apple,
Ohio. All the teenagers in Sweet Apple are catching up on the latest gossip about Kim MacAfee and Hugo Peabody going steady. ("The Telephone Hour") Kim, excited to have a boyfriend, reflects on how happy she is with her maturity ("How Lovely to be a Woman"). Conrad, Albert and Rosie set off to Sweet Apple to prepare for the event. Before they depart by train from New York City, local teenage girls are ecstatic to meet Conrad, but two young girls are sad that by the time Conrad gets out of the army, they'll be too old for him. Albert advises them to be optimistic ("Put on a Happy Face"). Soon, reporters arrive and ask Albert, Rosie, and the teenagers about Conrad ("A Healthy, Normal, American Boy"). Conrad receives a hero's welcome in Sweet Apple, and Hugo worries that Kim likes Conrad more than she likes him, but Kim assures Hugo that he's the only boy she loves ("One Boy"). Conrad shocks the town parents and drives the teenage girls crazy with his performance of "Honestly Sincere".
Conrad becomes a guest in the MacAfee house and irritates Kim's father, Harry MacAfee, by being a rude and selfish guest and calling him "Fats". Harry's wife Doris dotes on Conrad, leaving her husband with no breakfast other than a warm soft drink. Harry does not want Kim to kiss Conrad until Albert tells him their whole family will be on
The Ed Sullivan Show
. Harry, Doris, Kim, and her younger brother Randolph sing Sullivan's praises in "Hymn for a Sunday Evening". Hugo becomes disastrously jealous of Conrad. Albert's overbearing, interfering mother Mae comes to break up her son's relationship with the
Hispanic Rosie. Although Rosie is a positive portrayal of a
Latina, Mae is narrow-minded and dislikes Rosie dating her son.
Rosie and Hugo plot a way to ruin the broadcast. Conrad sings "One Last Kiss" on
The Ed Sullivan Show
, and as he leans in to kiss Kim, Hugo runs onstage and punches him in the face. On live television, Conrad collapses, Rosie breaks up with Albert, and Albert, trying to cover for the mishaps of the evening, leads a chorus of "A Healthy, Normal, American Boy".
Act Two
Despite plans to refilm the broadcast, Rosie and Kim resolve to leave Albert and Hugo, each asking herself, "What Did I Ever See in Him?" Conrad decides he wants to go out and have a good time on his last night as a civilian, and encourages the teens to party, and they declare they've got "A Lot of Livin' to Do". Conrad, Kim, and all the teenagers except Hugo head for the Ice House where they can party without adult supervision. Hugo goes to Maude's Roadside Retreat, hoping to get drunk, but proprietor Harold Maude can tell that he's under age and refuses to serve him.
When Mr. MacAfee finds out Kim has run away, he and Mrs. MacAfee lament how disobedient "Kids" are today. Rosie ends up at Maude's Roadside Retreat, but Albert calls her on the telephone and begs her, "Baby Talk To Me". Rosie, hoping to forget Albert, interrupts a
Shriners meeting being held in Maude's private dining room. She flirts with all the Shriners, and they begin a wild dance. Hugo and Albert rescue Rosie from the crazed Shriners, and Albert finally stands up to his mother, telling her to go home. Hugo tells the MacAfees and the other parents that the teenagers have all gone to the Ice House, and they all declare that they don't know what's wrong with their "Kids" (Reprise). Randolph joins in, stating that his older sister and the other teens are "ridiculous and so immature".
The adults and the police arrive at the Ice House and arrest Conrad, although he doesn't appear to have done anything illegal or immoral. Kim claims that she was intimidated by Conrad and Hugo gladly takes her back. After a reconciliation with Albert, Rosie sees Albert's mother and declares that she will marry Albert despite the mother's objections, and to irritate her, sings "Spanish Rose" with deliberate comic
Hispanic exaggeration. Albert bails Conrad out of jail and arranges for him to sneak out of town dressed as a middle-aged woman—presumably so he can report for Army induction as scheduled. Albert also gets his mother to leave Sweet Apple bound for home on the same train, and then tells Rosie that they're going to Pumpkin Falls, Iowa. The small town is in need of an English teacher, and they prefer the applicant to be married. Albert professes his love for her in "Rosie", and they go off together.
Film and television adaptations
1963 film
Bye Bye Birdie
was first adapted to film in 1963. It starred
Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson,
Maureen Stapleton as Mama Mae Peterson,
Janet Leigh as Rosie,
Paul Lynde as Mr. MacAfee,
Bobby Rydell as Hugo Peabody, and
Ann-Margret as Kim MacAfee.
Jesse Pearson [12] played the role of teen idol Conrad Birdie.
Ed Sullivan makes a substantial guest appearance as himself. The film is credited with making Ann-Margret a superstar during the mid-1960s, leading to her appearing with the real
Elvis Presley in
Viva Las Vegas
(1964). The film ranked number 38 on
Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.
[13]
Several significant changes were made in the plot and character relationships in the film version. Albert is not Birdie's agent but a talented research chemist who is struggling as a songwriter only to please his overbearing mother. He contributed to Birdie's initial success, and therefore Birdie "owes" him a favor. The film version also includes an additional character, a suave English teacher who flirts with Rosie. She plays up to him in several scenes after Albert has made her angry by caving in to his mother.
The positioning and context of several songs were changed as well. "An English Teacher," "A Healthy, Normal American Boy," "One Hundred Ways," "What Did I Ever See In Him?," "Baby Talk To Me" and "Spanish Rose" were eliminated entirely. "Kids" was performed in the MacAfee kitchen by Mr. MacAfee, Mama Mae Peterson, Albert and Randolph. "Put On A Happy Face" is performed by Albert and Rosie in the MacAfees' back yard; "A Lot of Livin' To Do" was performed by Conrad, Kim and Hugo at a teen dance; and "Rosie" is sung at the end of show by Albert, Rosie, Hugo and Kim. Kim also opens and closes the film version singing the title song, "Bye Bye, Birdie, I'm gonna miss you so...."
The film version ends on a brighter and lighter note. When Hugo punches Conrad, knocking him out with a single punch "live" on
The Ed Sullivan Show
, he wins Kim's heart, and the young couple is reunited. Albert's mother shows up after the broadcast with a man in tow, informs Albert and Rosie that she has married him, and gives Albert and Rosie her blessing for their long-postponed wedding.
Dick Van Dyke hated the making of the film, complaining to his wife, "They're turning it into the
Ann-Margret show!"
Susan Watson, who created the role of Kim in the stage version, later said, "Anyone who likes the film clearly didn't see the show."
1995 Made-For-TV Movie
A new adaptation was made for
television in 1995. It starred
Jason Alexander of
Seinfeld
in the role of Albert and
Vanessa L. Williams as Rosie.
Tyne Daly played Albert's mother Mae Peterson. Broadway actor
Marc Kudisch, who played Conrad Birdie on tour opposite
Tommy Tune, reprised the role. 1980s
pop music sensation
Chynna Phillips played Kim MacAfee, Broadway veteran
Sally Mayes played her mother, and
George Wendt played her father Harry. While this version remained mostly true to the original musical, several songs were added and re-arranged in the show, and minimal dialogue was rewritten to smoothly facilitate their inclusion. The title song "Bye Bye Birdie", written for the 1963 film and sung by
Ann-Margret, is rearranged and re-written as a rockin' quintet for a group of Sweet Apple girls at the soda shop. The verse of "One Boy" that Rosie sings was replaced with "Let's Settle Down". The song "Baby Talk to Me" returns to the show. Dialogue where Albert's mother Mae laments her fate was re-written into a song entitled "A Mother Doesn't Matter Anymore," and in "A Giant Step" Albert tells Rosie how he has finally broken free of his overbearing mother.
Roles and original Broadway cast
- Albert Peterson – Dick Van Dyke
- Rosie Alvarez – Chita Rivera
- Conrad Birdie – Dick Gautier
- Kim MacAfee – Susan Watson
- Mr. MacAfee – Paul Lynde
- Mrs. MacAfee – Marijane Maricle
- Randolph MacAfee - Johnny Borden
- Mrs. Mae Peterson, Albert's mother – Kay Medford
- Hugo Peabody – Michael J. Pollard
- Ursula Merkle – Barbara Doherty
- Mr. Henkel – Charles Nelson Reilly
- Sad Girl – Jasnick Williams
Song list
;Act I
- Overture
- An English Teacher
- The Telephone Hour
- How Lovely To Be a Woman
- We Love You, Conrad!
- Put On A Happy Face
- A Healthy, Normal, American Boy
- One Boy
- One Boy (Reprise)
- Honestly Sincere
- Hymn For a Sunday Evening
- One Last Kiss
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;Act II
- Entr'acte
- What Did I Ever See In Him?
- A Lot Of Livin' To Do
- Kids
- Baby, Talk To Me
- Shriner's Ballet (dance only)
- Kids (Reprise)
- Spanish Rose
- Rosie
- Finale
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Cast and other recordings
- Original Broadway Cast on Columbia Masterworks (1960) [14]
- Original London Cast on Decca Records (1961)
- Bye Bye Birdie: All the Great Songs Recorded by Bobby Rydell
on Cameo Records (1962)
- Studio Cast Recording featuring James Darren, Shelley Fabares, Paul Petersen, and the Marcels on Colpix Records (1963)
- Film Soundtrack featuring Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh, Ann-Margret, Bobby Rydell, Paul Lynde and Jessee Pearson on RCA Records (1964) [15]
- Television Soundtrack on RCA Records (1995) featuring Vanessa L. Williams, Jason Alexander, and Marc Kudisch [16]
Awards and nominations
- Tony Award for Best Musical (winner
)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Van Dyke, winner
; Gautier, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Rivera, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Scenic Design for a Musical (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Choreography (winner
)
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (winner
)
- Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director (nominee)
Cultural references
The song "The Telephone Hour" is frequently parodied in television shows, for example in the opening number of the
Xena
musical episode "Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire", in the
Family Guy
DVD version of the episode "
Petarded", and a "Kids" parody in
The Simpsons
episode "
Wild Barts Can't Be Broken". The song was also used in an episode of
The Daily Show
to explain the
Valerie Plame
Scandal.
Another song, "Put on a Happy Face" has been used in various television commercials, including for
Wal-Mart in the 2000s for an advertising campaign with its
smiley logo. The song was used again in the 1970s for a
Kool-Aid commercial featuring a very young
Jimmy Osmond, and in a cold sore medicine commercial. Instead of "Grey Skies Are Gonna Clear Up", the jingle ran, "Cold Sores Are Gonna Clear Up...." Another use for
Put on a Happy Face
was in the
BBC television program
Keeping Up Appearances
. In that show's Christmas special "Sea Fever", the song is used as dance music aboard the
QE2 when Hyacinth Bucket finds out that her brother-in-law Onslow won a cruise from horse racing.
A parody of
Bye, Bye, Birdie
was done in the animated show
Home Movies in the fourth episode of the fourth season called "Bye Bye Greasy". The episode involved the main characters directing and performing in a school play named
Bye Bye Greasy
. The plot of the play featured a mix of other works including
Grease
, and
Rebel Without a Cause
.
In episode 2 of the third season of the TV show
Mad Men
, various characters watch a film clip of Ann-Margret performing the title song from the film because a client has requested a commercial for diet soda in a similar style.
The song, "A Lot of Livin' to Do" can be heard on the radio in the car in the beginning of the movie "Secondhand Lions."
In an episode of the sitcom One on One, the character Duane Knox announces that "It's bye bye, birdie!" when the mascot for the Baltimore Orioles intercepts a jersey Cal Ripken throws at him.
In an episode of
The Golden Girls, Rose brings home a chicken who plays the piano. When Rose says, "He takes requests," Blanche replies with, "How about 'Bye Bye Birdie'."
In an episode of
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Mr. Moseby is annoyed by a hawk circling the hotel and announces "That's it! After tomorrow it's bye, bye birdie!" Then, the hotel's restaurant host, Patrick, pops up and says, "Oh! I love that musical! Like when the kids are on the phones in the squares."
Wal-Mart also used the song "How Lovely to be a Woman" in a 2009 commercial. The advertisement showed women using various make-up and cosmetic products.
In Nancy Drew Notebook #67, the "Eric Stanley fan club" sings the song "We Love you Conrad," while substituting Eric for Conrad.
References
- ''TIME magazine'' reported in its May 26, 2008 issue, p. 51, that this musical tied (with ''Oklahoma!'') as the eighth most frequently produced musical by U.S. high schools in 2007.
- ''Bye Bye Birdie'' original cast at IBDB
- ''Bye Bye Birdie'' cast replacements at IBDB
- Gilvey, John. ''Before the Parade Passes by: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical'' (2005), Macmillan, ISBN 0312337760, p.81
- Green, Stanley. ''Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre'' (1980), Da Capo Press, ISBN 0306801132, p.52
- ''Bring Back Birdie'' 1981 stage sequel at Internet Broadway Database
- Pollack, Joe. ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', "Happy Days Here Again With 'Birdie'", p6E, July 11, 1990
- Berson, Misha. ''The Seattle Times'', "Bye Bye Birdie - Hello, Fun", pC1, May 29, 1991
- Brantley, Ben."THEATER REVIEW; Rock 'n' Roll Just Right for the Milk and Cookies Set","New York Times", May 8, 2004
- Gans, Andrew."Graff, Ashmanskas, Brescia, Osnes, von Essen Explore Broadway: Three Generations Oct. 2-5",playbill.com, October 2, 2008
- Jones, Kenneth."Broadway's Newest Theatre, Henry Miller's, Will Open in September With Bye Bye Birdie",playbill.com, May 3, 2009
- Jesse Pearson at IMDB
- Countdown: The 50 best high school movies {{!}} Photo Gallery {{!}} News {{!}} Entertainment Weekly
- Original Broadway Cast album at Cast Album Database
- 1963 film cast album at CADB
- 1995 TV cast album at CADB