Bye-Bye Birdie Play Analysis

Bye Bye Birdie: A play Critique
March 24, 2016 I attended the play “Bye Bye Birdie” a musical comedy taken from a book written by Michael Steward, lyrics by lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. The manatee players, directed and choreographed by Cory Boyas held the performance at the Manatee preforming arts center. This was a local production; curtain time was seven thirty pm, and the cost of tickets was Thirteen dollars for students. The play had two acts each an hour and five minutes long with a fifteen-minute intermission. The goal of the play was to leave an impression on the audience about important life lessons. First lesson being you can try another form of employment, but it is not always the best fit for you. The second lesson was
to strive for independence although it is not always the easiest path. The third lesson was that relationships are important and should be protected; you do not realize the value until you lose them. The last lesson was that fame does not always last forever circumstances could change daily.
The play takes place briefly in New York and most of the action takes place in Sweet Apple, Ohio. The time period was the sixties when moral values were different then they are today. Conrad Birdie a famous rock and roll singer has been drafted into the army. Songwriter Albert Peterson is in a panic, it was his chance to have a song in a movie, there by achieving his fame and marrying his long term girlfriend. His fiancée Rosie pitches a spot for Conrad birdie on the Ed Sullivan show. Conrad would kiss one of his fans on the show as a symbolic goodbye to all of his fans. Albert Peterson writes a song “one last kiss” to be sung on the show, which Sullivan bought the idea of the last kiss. A contest is held to select someone who meets the image of a Conrad Birdie fan. The fan chosen was Kim MacAfee of Sweet Apple, Ohio. Birdie’s presence in Ohio was the beginning of conflict. Kim’s boyfriend was jealous at the thought of the kiss with Conrad. Her family had high standards and values that were against public display of affection. On set at the Sullivan show was the climax of the play, because Hugo knocked out Conrad Birdie. This changed future plans and minds of main characters and was a turning point of the play. The Sullivan show failed to establish the objective of Albert and Rosie. Albert decides to get the job he always wanted as an English teacher against his moms wishes and marries Rosie. The protagonist Albert had finally defeated the antagonist, his mother by verbalizing his desire to be an English teacher and steal down and marry Rosie. Kim returns to Hugo as her boyfriend. It was a happy ending.
The acting was very effective they knew their parts well; they stayed in character especially the standout Mae Peterson, the mother of Albert Peterson. Mae Peterson was so animated and delivered her lines with such feeling she made you laugh. Rosie was very talented, her singing and dancing ability was phenomenal, her love for Albert her boyfriend was portrayed with sincerity. Albert spent most of the play showing his frustration and torn between mother who wasn’t cordial and girlfriend, he was unable to commit to. Albert came off as being weak and unable to make decisions with no control of his life. Kim, the teenage girl had a beautiful voice and her singing ability was very moving. Conrad birdie was unbelievable, his stature was small and singing ability was ineffective for his role as a rock star. There may have been a casting error or small pool of actors to pick from. The lesser members of the cast were effective in assisting to achieve the goal of the play.
The costume design choice was excellent and very effective for the period that the theme of the play portrayed.
In this play costumes provided you with the personalities of the character and age group, setting a back to the fifties mood. Teen girls were dressed in full skirts with lots of petticoats, to make the skirts stand out when dancing. Sweater sets and blouses were worn along with pedal pushers and sneakers for footwear. The male teens and dancers wore tracers with plaid and madras shirts, some wore colorful suspenders and converse shoes. The adult females wore period dresses with high heels for footwear. The adult males wore button down shirts with ties, sport coats, suits and wingtip shoes. Conrad Birdies costume was fashioned of that era which would be known as bad boy clothes a term that is used today. It consisted of a black leather zipped jacket, dungaree pants and black leather boots for footwear. The costume he used for the performance was a gold lamem decorated jumpsuit. All the costumes added to the success of the play, they radiated the professionalism and enhanced the storyline. The set design was very effective the beginning set was cubicals with teens in each cubical speaking on the phone. A spotlight would follow each speaker as they sang. Great opening, and it set the mood for the rest of the play. The largest set was a painted design of a train station used as a background for the other sets. Minor sets were on rollers to switch out scenes and Ariel sets were used. The sets were very lifelike and fit the scene; they were very simple and cost effective. This set design achieved its goal. The creativity surpassed a local production and added to the play. The actors changed the sets; this kept up the flow of the play with no delays and made it very
organized.
This was very entertaining for young and old alike. For the old I could tell by the audience they were remembering past years and music of the 50’s, for the young it was similar to our music idols of today and our enthusiasm of music. This play is timeless; the life lessons it teaches are about independent relationships, and following your dream and not someone else’s. These are values excepted by all regardless of age. I thoroughly enjoyed the play. The acting, music, and the audience participation of the music they remembered drew me in. I would recommend this play to other patrons of all ages. The play: Bye Bye Birdie would be an enjoyable evening for the whole family.