left to right: Lara
McLeod as Rose Alvarez, Duncan Menzies as Conrad Birdie and Joshua Jérard as Albert J.
Peterson, photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis
We love you, Conrad
A 1950s romantic comedy at Centerstage
By Alec Clayton
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| left to right: Lara McLeod as Rose Alvarez, Duncan Menzies as Conrad Birdie and Joshua Jérard as Albert J. Peterson, photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis |
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| the cast of Bye Bye Birdie, photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis |
In 1957 Elvis Presley was drafted into the
Army, and millions of teenagers thought the world was coming to an end. This
was the inspiration for the early 1960s stage show and movie “Bye Bye Birdie”
starring Dick Van Dyke.
Heartthrob Conrad Birdie (Duncan Menzies) — based
on Elvis but named after country/rock singer Conway Twitty — has been drafted
and is scheduled to leave for boot camp the next day, and his agent, Albert J.
Peterson (Joshua Jérard) has cooked up a publicity stunt whereby Birdie is
going to the fictional middle-American town of Sweet Apple, Ohio, where he will
bestow a goodbye kiss upon the 14-year-old president of the Conrad Birdie fan
club and sing the newly penned song “One Last Kiss” — all of which is to be
televised on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
“Bye Bye Birdie” is a lightweight but highly
entertaining musical comedy filled with ’50s-style bubblegum music and lots of
dancing (snappy choreography by Jimmy Shields).
By today’s standards, it is a milquetoast
musical. Birdie is more Ricky Nelson than Elvis, but Menzies does have some of
Elvis’s moves down pat, and he sings with a nice, mellow voice. A handsome
young man with big wavy hair and decked out in a shiny suit, Menzies certainly
looks the part of a ’50s teen heartthrob, and he is delightfully expressive in
a self-deprecating parody of teen idol arrogance.
Jérard as the harried agent is able to change
expressions and persona at the drop of a hat. Centerstage patrons will remember
him from his outstanding performance as Prince Caspian in the panto “Rapunzel.”
I very much like the ethnic diversity of the
cast, which looks like America — not so much a melting pot as a stew of many
flavors. I wish more theaters would work toward such diverse casting. I also
like that for this production Centerstage uses a large youth ensemble and
teenage interns on stage and backstage who were mentored by theatrical
professionals in every step of the production, thus providing the company with
the largest and most youthfully energetic cast ever to appear in a Centerstage
show.
Standout performances are turned in by Lara
McLeod as Albert’s secretary and girlfriend, Jasmyne Mendoza as Conrad Birdie
fan club president Kim MacAfree, and Sam Barker in an over-the-top performance
as Kim’s father.
Lighting by John Chenault, resident lighting
designer at Tacoma Music Playhouse, highlights the musical performances
beautifully and helps create seamless set changes.
For a fun evening of youthful joy, I recommend
“Bye Bye Birdie.”
Bye Bye Birdie, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2
p.m. Saturday-Sunday, through June 16, Centerstage at Knutzen Family Theatre,
3200 SW Dash Point Road, Federal Way
TICKETS: $29 adults, $25,
Seniors, Military: $15; Youth (18-23): $12 17 and younger (plus 5% City
of Federal Way admission tax)
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