Sitting in on the Wednesday, November 7 after-school dress rehearsal of this year’s fall musical, ”Bye Bye Birdie,” you would think you were sitting in on opening night.
“Everything that should be finished is finished, all our costumes, everything.
Usually around this time before the fall musical I’m thinking, ‘How are we going to make this work,’ but I’m really confident in the show,” said junior Dylan Tramontin, who played Ursula Merkle, the fanatical fan of the Elvis-like teen icon Conrad Birdie (junior Matthew Gottesman).
The cast of “Bye Bye Birdie,” which gave two evening performances on Friday and Saturday and a matinee on Saturday, treated its audiences to a quality production.
“Bye Bye Birdie,” the Tony Award-winning Charles Strouse musical with a book by Michael Stewart and lyrics by Lee Adams, parodies Elvis Presley’s brief stint in the army.
Albert Peterson (junior Robert Stevenson), Birdie’s manager, finds himself without a client when Birdie is drafted. But his faithful secretary, Rosie Alvarez (senior Hannah Temkin), comes up with a publicity stunt in small-town Sweet Apple, Ohio before Birdie leaves. She also makes Albert promise to leave the music business forever and become her husband.
Together, they pick a member from the National Conrad Birdie Fan Club to be the last girl Birdie kisses before leaving, while he sings a new hit song written by Albert, “One Last Kiss.” Fifteen-year-old Kim MacAfee (junior Ella Gibson), is thrilled to receive a kiss from Birdie, despite objections from her amiable new steady, Hugo (senior Isaac Miller).
There was great chemistry between the romantic leads. Temkin’s brassy belt played off Stevenson’s more mellow sound. Temkin’s Rosie was confident, mature and poised, yet revealed her vulnerabilities. Stevenson’s Albert, on the other hand, was intentionally awkward and insecure, but quite lovable. Together, they were adorable, garnering applause and hollers during their end-of-show kiss. Their final number, “Rosie,” was one of the best in the show.
Though Gottesman had few speaking lines, his dead-on Elvis impersonation and nervous hips had the audience in stitches. Gibson was charming and had a confident, clear voice, but she could have been louder.
The smaller roles were also handled well. Scene-stealer freshman Miryam Coppersmith, who played Albert’s overbearing mother, had the audience laughing before she even opened her mouth.
Seniors Billy Ferrer and Samantha Shokin, who played Kim’s parents, were hilarious. Ferrer, a Stuyvesant Theater veteran, and newcomer Shokin pulled off a believable and lovable couple. Both actors had strong voices and were talented character actors, and mimicked perfectly the dynamic of a middle-aged couple.
The cheerful ensemble numbers like “Telephone Hour” and “A Lot of Livin’ To Do” showcased the bright costumes, typical of the late ’50s and jubilant choreography. The costumes were bubbly and added to the lighthearted atmosphere of the play. Pastel circle skirts, clean-cut sweaters and khakis were generally the attire for the Sweet Apple teens, but one of the most memorable outfits was Birdie’s head-to-toe gold lamé suit, which contributed to his rock-star air.
“Put On A Happy Face,” a duet between Stevenson and senior Allison Wiener, who played a grief-stricken Birdie fan, was also charming and memorable. The Shriners’ dinner scene, in which Rosie treats the mysterious Soulja Boy-dancing cultists to an unexpected raunchy dance, was one of the most lively and well-directed.
“Bye Bye Birdie” was bolstered by the effective use of its ensemble. Sophomore James”Santi” Slade was hilarious as a tap-dancing Shriner and as the sexy secretary Gloria Rasputin. Senior Max Stein’s dancing between scenes generated whistles from the audience.
Many cast members attributed their seamless performances to senior and first-time director Kasey Huizinga, who is a Stuyvesant Theater veteran. “She really knows how to take control,” Stevenson said. “She knows what looks good on stage.”
“[Directing for the first time] has been really stressful but when everything works out, it’s great,” Huizinga said.
Some of the technical aspects of the show stifled the show’s success. There were many gaps in the performance when scenery was moved, possibly the result of a large set, but transitions should have been smoother. The lighting was also poor—late cues often left characters in the dark. The cast also struggled to stay together with the poorly conducted orchestra.
But the show’s flaws were easy to overlook. The unwavering enthusiasm of the excellent cast drove this year’s fall musical. The directors’ attention to detail and their conscientious interpretation of the ’50s aesthetic overshadow the show’s inconsistencies. Most of all, the actors were stellar, shining almost as brightly as the costumes that adorned them.
