Bye bye birdie

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Musical dates
Title: Bye bye birdie
Original language: English
Music: Charles Strouse
Book: Michael Stewart
Lyrics: Lee Adams
Premiere: April 14, 1960
Place of premiere: new York
Place and time of the action: New York and Sweet Apple, Ohio (USA), early 1960s
Roles / people
  • Albert Peterson, manager of Conrad Birdie and president of the "Almaelou" music society, in his early thirties
  • Rose Alvarez, Albert's secretary, Spanish guy
  • Mrs. Mae Peterson, Albert's all-ruling "Mama"
  • Kim MacAfee, 15 years old, very pretty and very self-confident
  • Conrad Birdie, rock star
  • Mr. Harry MacAfee, father of Kim and Randolph
  • Mrs. Doris MacAfee, mother of Kim and Randolph
  • Randolph MacAfee, age 10, Kim's younger brother
  • Hugo Peabody, Kim's boyfriend
  • Ursula Merkle, Kim's neighbor
  • Teens Harvey Johnson, Helen, Alice, Deborah Sue, Nancy, and Margie
  • Gloria Rasputin, provocative substitute secretary
  • Mayor of Sweet Apple, Ohio
  • Mayor Edna's wife
  • Conrad's guitarist
  • reporter
  • Mrs. Merkle, Ursula's mother
  • Mr. Johnson, Harvey's father
  • TV show production team
  • doctor
  • Maude
  • Maude's dishwashing assistant
  • Maude's first guest
  • Maude's second guest
  • Men's company in Maudes Bar
  • traveler
  • Parents from Sweet Apple
  • police officers
  • Station staff

Bye Bye Birdie is a musical in two acts (17 images) with the music of Charles Strouse. Michael Stewart wrote the libretto and Lee Adams wrote the lyrics. The work was premiered on April 14, 1960 at the Martin Beck Theater in New York under the direction of Gower Champion . The piece came to 607 performances. Benjamin Baumann created the German version of the text . In Germany, the musical was first performed on May 27, 2006 in Coesfeld .

Stage sets

First act: Image 1: Office of the music company “Almaelou”, New York; Photo 2: Sweet Apple, Ohio; Photo 3: MacAfee family home, Sweet Apple; Photo 4: Pennsylvania Station, New York; Image 5: Railway Station, Sweet Apple; Image 6: In front of the town hall, Sweet Apple; Photo 7: MacAfee family home, Sweet Apple; Image 8: the stage and office of the movie theater, Sweet Apple; Image 9: Stage of the movie theater, Sweet Apple

Second act: Photo 10: MacAfee family home, Sweet Apple; Photo 11: In the streets of Sweet Apple; Image 12: Back door of the MacAfee family home, Sweet Apple; Image 13: “Maude's Bar”, Sweet Apple; Image 14: back door of “Maude's Bar”, Sweet Apple; Photo 15: The ice house, Sweet Apple; Photo 16: Train station, Sweet Apple

action

America in the swinging and rocking fifties. Rock 'n' roll superstar Conrad Birdie is slated to be drafted into the military, causing almost all female teenagers in the country to faint screeching hysterically. Conrad Birdie's highly indebted agent Albert also gets into major difficulties when he is called up. But his secretary and fiancée Rosie has a plan that promises to solve all problems: In order to promote Conrad Birdie's latest hit One Last Kiss , the star is supposed to say goodbye to his fans in a TV show in which he is a simple girl on behalf of everyone kisses the country in public in public. The chosen one finds Rosie by randomly reaching into the fan club's file: it is the teenager Kim McAfee from the tranquil town of Sweet Apple in Ohio.

In Sweet Apple, and especially with the McAfee family, the news that Conrad Birdie is coming hits like a bomb. When the star starts singing with his inimitable swing of his hips upon arrival, it's not just the teenagers who faint. But the chosen Kim has for the first time a “really steadfast friend”, Hugo Peabody, who is the same age and is seething with jealousy. The fact that the star is quartered in the quiet home of the McAfee family also causes further excitement.

There are additional entanglements, as Rosie tries to dissuade Albert completely from show business after this gig and to start a peaceful life with him in the country - whereby she first has to calm down his overconcerned, hysterical mother, who also appears in Sweet Apple to make matters worse.

Birdie's farewell performance begins in the small city cinema. The star belts out his hit One Last Kiss into the television cameras as planned , but when it comes to the kiss, both father McAfee and Kim's friend Hugo go crazy and let the program fail. Then Kim and Conrad disappeared. But contrary to all expectations, the two did not fall in love, but find each other boring: Kim realizes that the superstar is a pretty mundane person, and Birdie believes that after all the excitement, the army will be the purest relaxation for him.

Songs

  • An English teacher
  • The Telephone Hour
  • How Lovely to Be a Woman
  • Put on a happy face
  • A Healthy Normal American Boy
  • One boy
  • Honesty Sincere
  • Hymn for a Sunday Evening
  • One last kiss
  • What Did I Ever See in Him
  • A Lot of Livin 'to Do
  • Kids
  • Baby talk to me
  • Kids (reprise)
  • Spanish rose
  • Rosie

filming

Directed by George Sidney , the musical was filmed in 1963 under the title Bye Bye Birdie . The main roles were played by Janet Leigh , Dick Van Dyke , Ann-Margret , Maureen Stapleton , Bobby Rydell and Jesse Pearson.