The hair is slicked back, the poodle skirts tight at the waist, “We love you Conrad” is on the tongue of every teenage girl, and the guys aren’t sure why the girls are so crazy. Here’s the story: Conrad Birdie, the rock and roll heart throb of the day, has been drafted. The head of the Almaelou Talent agency, Albert, is frantic because he will be losing his top client. His faithful but frustrated secretary, Rosie, saves the day by coming up with a plan for Conrad to sing a new hit, “One Last Kiss” and kiss a girl from Sweet Apple, Ohio live on the Ed Sullivan Show.
This ever- popular musical, which opened on Broadway in 1960 — not so coincidentally as Elvis’ popularity surged — was composed by Charles Strouse, with lyrics by Lee Adams, and book by Michael Stewart. Bye Bye Birdie played on Broadway for 607 performances at the Martin Beck Theatre and 268 performances in London at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
Even today, when trying to book tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/, for the Philipstown Depot Theatre’s youth production, three different theatre companies perfoming Birdie this July were found. This particular company, the Depot Theatre Youth Players, will be performing this coming Thursday through Sunday, July 21 to 24, with a mix of late afternoon and evening shows. Parents being parents, a lot of the seats have been sold already, so it’s a good idea to reserve early. Tickets are $12 and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/.
So join in the fun with: Josie Altucher, Sarah Anderson, Lucy Austin, Bridget Batignani, Riley Bissinger, Roisin Daly, Amanda Erickson, Tess Foster, Julie Geller, Becky Gore, Will Heintzman, Liza Hodgson, Campbell Ives, Cate Kanlong, Jocelyn Lane, Alli Larocco, Harper Levy, Hudson Lovell, Jack Lovell, Allison Marino, Kaelin Martin, Marina Martin, Kyra Moskowitz, Parker Parrella, Jack Revkin, Leandra Rice, Anna Rowe, Nicholas Sterling, Clara Thompson, Lily Weisberg, Addie Westerhuis, Freya Wood-Gallagher, and Ronan Wood-Gallagher. Bye Bye Birdie is directed by Tess Dul with assistant directors Zosia Kruk, Liz Richter, Madison Hoyos, Alec Lane and Matt Marino. Costumes are designed by Charlotte Palmer-Lane with assistant Liz Groombridge, set design by Dana Kenn, and lighting design by Donald Kimmel. For more information call the Philipstown Depot Theatre box office at 845-424-3900.
Photos courtesy of Philipstown Depot Theatre
