On opening night, last Friday, everyone I spoke to before the show told me about how much fun they expected or how excited they were for the Fifth Avenue Theatre’s new production of Bye Bye Birdie. That included the gentleman who scanned my ticket, a bartender, and the elderly couple seated next to me. It was the first “fun” play to hit the stage this year, they all told me. They were all correct, it was a blast.
First staged in 1960 and based loosely on Elvis Presley being drafted into the Army in 1957, Bye Bye Birdie revolves around a music executive/songwriter named Albert Peterson, who dreams of a more ordinary life as a teacher and away from the seedy music business. His secretary, Rosie Alvarez, who has not-so-secretly been pining for him, suggests a plan to to use his client’s entry into the military to make a break for a normal career. He’s no Col. Tom Parker. He’s a mama’s boy deathly afraid of his mother, who very, very much does not want him to be partnered with a Latina woman.
The plan is for Albert to write a song for his Presleyan client, Conrad Birdie, called “One Last Kiss” and find a member of a his fan club for Birdie to give a smooch to before he joins the service.
Albert and Rosie are played by Noah Weisberg and Ashley Perez Flanagan. They were both outstanding so it was not a shock to see that they both have Broadway experience. Weisberg is particularly great with the physical comedy that he showcases during “Put on a Happy Face.”
It was a treat, and a pleasant surprise, to see legendary Seattle actress Leslie Law playing Albert’s mom. Law is the creator of the long-running variety program Sandbox Radio, whose live tapings I used to attend all the time when they were at West of Lenin in Fremont. She has excellent comedic timing.
There was a hilarious scene with Tori Gresham as Gloria, a woman Albert’s mother would prefer her son to be with, that I can’t stop laughing as I think about it. Her dexterity also makes her a gifted physical comedian. Gresham is a prolific actor and performer around Seattle, recently as one of the stars of the Fifth Avenue Theatre’s last big production, Waitress, as well as a cast member at the Can Can Culinary Cabaret at Pike Place Market.
In contrast, much has been made of the young cast (more on that in a moment) with more than a dozen and a half actors making their 5th Avenue Theater debut in this production. There’s something I find funny about this considering it’s a play that was created before my parents entered grade school, but the themes of young romance, alienation from parents, the allure of celebrity, the unpredictability of teenage emotions are universal themes that play well with the young cast. Whether that brings in a younger audience is up for debate, though not one which I wish to partake in.
What is not in question is just how much fun this production Bye Bye Birdie was. The music and dancing great. There was a lot of humor and more jokes than not landed. I had such a fun time.
One thing I want to note is that the performance I attended was opening night and it ended in an unorthodox way that deserves mention. After the curtain call, Noah Weisberg asked for the audience’s attention to give a brief speech about how, as actors, the show must go on and as amazing as being paid to act is, being on stage means that you cannot be elsewhere. He noted that a handful of cast members were missing their graduations to be part of this performance and he and Ashley Perez Flanagan staged an impromptu graduation ceremony, much to the shock of the performers recognized and the delight of the audience who rewarded those cast members with a standing ovation.
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Bye Bye Birdie runs through Sunday, June 29 at the Fifth Avenue Theatre. Tickets and more info can be found here.
Photo Credit: Photo by Tracy Martin. Courtesy of The 5th Avenue Theatre.