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Bye Bye Birdie is a musical satire on American society written by Michael Stewart (book), Lee Adams (lyrics), and Charles Strouse (music). It was first performed in the Martin Beck Theatre on April 14, 1960, directed by Gower Champion.

Contents 1 Story 2 Films 3 Songs 4 Original Cast 5 Trivia 6 External links

Story

The fictional story takes place in 1960, centering around Conrad Birdie, a hip-thrusting rock and roll superstar akin to Elvis Presley; his agent, Albert Peterson; and Albert's secretary and love, Rose Alvarez. Albert finds himself in trouble when Conrad is drafted into the army, so he and Rose come up with a last-ditch publicity stunt: Before he is sent to the army, Conrad will give one lucky girl a kiss on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The lucky girl is chosen randomly from Conrad's fan club, and it happens to be Kim MacAfee. Rose, Conrad, and Albert set off to her house in Sweet Apple, Ohio to prepare for the event. However, things don't go quite as planned; Kim's father becomes dumbfounded at the prospect of being on The Ed Sullivan Show, Kim's boyfriend becomes disastrously jealous of Conrad, and Conrad himself becomes tired of the show business life and tries to teach the kids how to party!

Films

Bye Bye Birdie was first adapted to film in 1963. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson, Janet Leigh as Rose Alvarez, Paul Lynde as Mr. MacAfee and Ann-Margret as Kim MacAfee. Ed Sullivan also makes a guest appearance. The flow of the story differs significantly from the musical in this version. The film is credited with making Ann-Margret a superstar during the mid-1960s, leading to her appearing with the real Elvis Presley in Viva Las Vegas.

A new adaptation for television was made in 1995. It starred Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame in the role of Albert Peterson and former Miss America Vanessa Williams as Rose Alvarez. Actress Tyne Daly who played Amy's mother in Judging Amy played the extravagant and over-bearing mother of Albert, Mae Peterson. Veteran Broadway actor Marc Kudisch played Conrad Birdie. Eighties pop sensation Chynna Phillips played Kim MacAfee, and George Wendt played her father, Harry MacAfee. This version stayed true to the original play and adds in new songs.

Songs

Bye Bye Birdie features several notable songs. The song Kids was parodied in an episode of the Simpsons, and Put on a Happy Face was used by Wal-Mart in the 2000s for an advertising campaign with its smiley logo. The Telephone Hour was parodied in the episode of Family Guy, "Petarded" (although the scene is only available on the DVD). As well, a line of the song "Put On A Happy Face" was sung by the character of Mr. Garrison in the controversial cartoon South Park once after being molested by his father (which he saw as a good thing).

Overture A
Overture B
Opening Curtain
An English Teacher	Rose Alvarez
The Telephone Hour	The children of Sweet Apple
How Lovely to be a Woman	Kim MacAfee
Put on a Happy Face	Albert Peterson and sad girls
A Healthy, Normal, American Boy	Albert Peterson, Rose Alvarez, and company
Sweetapple Band
One Boy	Kim MacAfee, Hugo Peabody, Kim's friends
Sweetapple Station
Honestly Sincere	Conrad Birdie, children of Sweet Apple
Hymn for a Sunday Evening	The MacAfee family
One Hundred Ways Ballet	Rose Alvarez
One Last Kiss	Conrad, MacAfee family, and company
Finale Act I
Entr'acte A
Entr'acte B
What Did I Ever See in Him?	Rose Alvarez and Kim MacAfee
What Did I Ever See in Him? (Underscore and Reprise)	Rose Alvarez and Kim MacAfee
A Lot of Livin' To Do	Conrad Birdie and children of Sweet Apple
Kids	Mr. and Mrs. MacAfee
Baby, Talk to Me	Albert Peterson
Shriner Ballet	Rose Alvarez and Shriners
Kids (Reprise)	Mr. and Mrs. MacAfee and the parents of Sweet Apple
Ice House Livin'	Conrad Birdie, Kim MacAfee, and the children of Sweet Apple
An English Teacher (Reprise)	Rose Alvarez
Spanish Rose	Rose Alvarez
Hand Car	Conrad Birdie Fan Club
Rosie	Albert Peterson and Rose Alvarez
Finale
Bows and Exit Music

• not included in some scripts

Original Cast

Albert Peterson	Dick Van Dyke
Rose Alvarez	Chita Rivera
Conrad Birdie	Dick Gautier
Kim MacAfee	Susan Watson
Mr. MacAfee	Paul Lynde
Mrs. MacAfee	Marijane Maricle
Randolph MacAfee	Johnny Broden
Mrs. Peterson	Maureen Stapleton
Ursula Merkle	Barbara Doherty

Trivia

The name Conrad Birdie was a play off of the name Conway Twitty

Rikki Lee Travolta, who headlined a 1997 stage tour, was so convincing as the Elvis-inspired Conrad Birdie that the National Association of Amateur Elvis Impersonators voted to make him an honorary member.

The location of "Sweet Apple, Ohio" was inspired by lyricist Lee Adams hometown of Mansfield, Ohio

Paul Lynde, who played Harry MacAfee, was born and raised in Mount Vernon, Ohio, just south of Mansfield.

Famous alumni of Bye Bye Birdie include Tommy Tune, Rikki Lee Travolta, Steve Zahn, Doris Roberts, Rue McClanahan, Gary Sandy, Randy Jones of the Village People, Marc Kudisch, Rachel Bilson, Jeff Trachta, Dick Van Dyke, Chita Rivera, Paul Lynde, Ann-Margret, Bobby Rydell, Jason Alexander, Vanessa L. Williams, Chynna Phillips, George Wendt, and Tyne Daly.

External links

• Bye Bye Birdie (1963) at the Internet Movie Database
• Bye Bye Birdie (1995) (TV) at the Internet Movie Database
• Entry for Bye Bye Birdie at the Internet Broadway Database

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