Thursday, March 7 was the opening night of the school musical, “Bye Bye Birdie,” a funny and uplifting show that centers around a teenager in 1958.
When rock star Conrad Birdie (Matthew Alberta) is drafted into the war, his songwriter Albert Peterson (James Legg) and his girlfriend Rosie (Emily Alberta) decide to have Birdie perform one last song before he leaves. Their plan also involves Birdie giving one fan a final kiss on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Kim MacAfee (Morgan Meloy), the girl chosen to receive Birdie’s farewell kiss, is the former leader of the Conrad Birdie Fan Club. Kim’s boyfriend Hugo (Mason Corey) worries that she likes Birdie more than him, but she assures him that’s not true. However, Hugo punches Birdie in the face just as he’s about to kiss Kim.
In response to this, Kim and Rosie leave their boyfriends, and Kim runs away with Birdie. However, Kim and Hugo forgive each other when things don’t work out between her and Birdie. Rose and Albert also become happily engaged after forgiving one another.
The show itself was beautifully performed, and it was clear how much work and passion everyone working on the show put into it. Morgan Meloy delivered a showstopping performance as Kim MacAfee and Harrison LaBarbera’s performance as Mr. MacAfee definitely brought a lot of humor to the show. James Legg’s dance experience lent itself to his wonderful performance as Albert Peterson.
Other notable performances included Marisa Landi as Mrs. MacAfee, Brennen Brown as Randolph MacAfee, Chloe Vit as Mrs. Mae Peterson, Robert Scott as Ed Sullivan and Yulia Bidula as Ursula Merkle.
Conducting the show was Lauren Barr, with Patrick Carpenter directing the orchestra and Sarah Reynolds producing and choreographing the musical.
The stage crew and set designers also did a phenomenal job. The colorful set included moving pieces for each scene.
Albert Peterson’s office set had a full desk with props, the MacAfee’s house set was complete with a sofa and a table and Kim’s room had posters and a desk. The set also had windows that opened during certain musical numbers like “The Telephone Hour” and “Reprise: Kids.”
The costume team, led by Raegan Begey and Isabelle Michal, also did an amazing job as well as the hair and makeup team, led by Colin Miller and Maxine Fornito. Costumes immersed audiences in the time period of the 50s with long circle skirts (poodle skirts included) and fun patterns.
The lighting team, sound team, properties team and run crew also did a wonderful job helping the show to come together. “Bye Bye Birdie” was definitely a show to remember at Kingsway.
