A Healthy, Normal American Musical
Davis Productions Bye Bye, Birdie at Herberger Theater Center
*** (out of *****)
Mark S.P. Turvin
(w) 965-1021  (h) 894-5443
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@asu.edu

	The 1950's have been idealized so often recently, and in so 
many different ways, it's easy to forget that the trend was 
started a few scant years after Ike, the hoola hoop, and Sputnik 
had been put to bed. Bye Bye, Birdie, one of the great camp 
musicals of the 60's, is an example of this desire to deify the 
cultural icons of the time. With its worship of Elvis, Middle 
America, teen innocence and the nuclear family, Bye Bye, Birdie 
set the stage for the Fonz, American Graffiti and Grease. 
	Bye Bye, Birdie, though, has a sense of tongue-in-cheek, 
slight though it may be, that was eventually lost in the 70's, 
80's and now 90's worship of that idyllic era that held not only 
carefree fun and rock n' roll, but segregation, the coldest of the 
cold war, and hypocritical morals. Birdie has fallen to the 
wayside with other cute and innocuous musicals from this period 
like The Pajama Game, Once Upon a Mattress and Flower Drum Song. 
Time has tended to weed these shows out from the better 
constructed and more solid musicals, such as My Fair Lady, The 
Music Man and The Sound of Music. This production of Birdie, 
wonderfully directed by Michael Lancy, does stand as a reminder of 
the merits of musicals of this period and genre, as well as the 
flaws that kept Birdie from withstanding the test of time. 
	Birdie is not a well-crafted show. It has many cute numbers, 
and a cute plot involving an Elvis-type rock and roll star whose 
induction into the army leads his agent to set up a ceremony for 
his last kiss by one of the members of his fan club in Sweet 
Apple, Ohio. The first act is fast-paced and crammed full of great 
numbers, both ensemble and solos. The second act, though, has too 
little plot, and loses the break-neck momentum that makes the 
first act so enjoyable. This production is unable to overcome this 
flaw.
	The best thing about this production is the girl's ensemble. 
Everyone of them had energy and spunk, and controlled the show 
when they were on stage. They overcame the terrible technical 
distractions without missing a beat. They propel the first act and 
raise the energy and enthusiasm of the show. Their limited use in 
the second act partly explains its disappointment. Lancy's 
direction of ensemble work, as well as Kimberleigh Rose's 
choreography, are top notch.  
	Gary Sandy, of WKRP in Cincinnati fame, was very good in his 
role of Birdie's manager, Albert Peterson. He is a talented 
crooner and hoofer, though his portrayal of the character was 
generally played at one level, something that did not help the 
second act at all. Molly Marie Davis, as Albert's assistant and 
love interest, Rosie Alverez, was magnificient. Her dancing and 
singing was wonderful, and she portrayed the comedy of her part 
very well. She was one of the few bright spots of the second act. 
As Conrad Birdie, Michael Berry was dead-on in his portrayal of 
the slightly sinister rock star with only one thing on his mind. 
As Kim MacAfee, the young lady Conrad is supposed to give his last 
kiss to, Dana Pauley sang well, though her first and most 
important number, "How Lovely to be a Woman" was marred by sound 
problems and shrill notes. 
	Disappointing performances were the doom of the second act. 
Brian Runbeck as Kim's father has the important second act song 
where he laments about "Kids" today. The song was flat, and so 
went the second act. Barbara McBain, as Albert's hilariously 
omnipresent and lamenting mother, was never sure to play a whining 
or acidic Jewish mother. As a result, the character came across 
less comically and more cruelly than the show could balance. Her 
snide comments about her sons obsession with Rosie came out more 
nastily than was comfortable.
	The shows period costumes, created by Pam See, were a treat, 
with much color and coordination. Devin Quince's sound design and 
the set were major detriments to the show. The lead's microphones 
were constantly crackling at the wrong moments. The idea of the 
set was wonderful, incorporating tinker toy-like buildings with 
blueprint-like drops. When first introduced, the giant tinkertoy 
set with the telephone-toting teenagers of Sweet Apple in 
different compartments was applauded, but the sets actual 
execution caused problems in their movement which the actors were 
forced to compensate for. Philip Rosenberg's lighting was 
adequate, though the follow spot operation was hideous.
	This production of Bye Bye, Birdie has an excellent first 
act, and a plodding second act. Do the benefits of one outweigh 
the problems of the other? It's a close call, but when a persons 
face hurts from so much laughing and smiling at the intermission, 
does it really matter if the show doesn't quite reach that level 
again? Bye Bye, Birdie is nothing more than fluff, and doesn't 
claim to be. For pure escapism, this shows first act alone is 
worth the price of admission.

Production Details:
Bye Bye, Birdie by Charles Strouse & Lee Adams
Davis Productions
Herberger Theatre Center, Phoenix
861-8477
July 21-August 6

-30-