A fledgling flier
by Michael Dresdner
Conrad Birdie (DuWayne Andrews, Jr) and his fans photo by DK Photography
The popular 60’s era musical Bye Bye Birdie, directed by
Chris Serface, opened at Tacoma Little Theatre last night to a very full and
warmly enthusiastic house.
It’s a play often done by high school thespians, perhaps
because the bulk of the ensemble chorus is made up of a whole lot of teenagers,
and perhaps because high school audiences are willing to accept a performance
that is more charming than polished. This production is definitely charming.
Just in case you were not around back then, Elvis Presley,
at the height of his career, got drafted into the Army in 1957, and that was
the trigger for crafting this musical comedy.
Teen heartthrob Conrad Birdie (DuWayne Andrews, Jr.) gets
drafted, so his woeful, songwriting, mama’s-boy of a manager, Albert Peterson
(Steve Barnett), aided by his long-suffering and adoring assistant, Rose Alvarez
(Ashley Ortenzo), decides to capitalize on it. Choosing an adoring fan club
member at random, they decide Conrad will bestow one last kiss on Kim MacAfee
(Melissa Maricich) of classically suburban Sweet Apple, Ohio. She’s just been
pinned by her boyfriend, Hugo Peabody (Steven Wells) and this upcoming kiss, to
be aired on the Ed Sullivan show nation-wide, throws her, her new steady, and
all her many friends into a chattering quandary.
Eventually, everything works out and returns to normal, but not
before plenty of other comic scenarios play out. Albert strives to cut the
apron strings with his overbearing, passive –aggressive, mother/business
partner Mae Peterson (Diane Lee Bozzo), a character based on every comic’s
favorite Jewish mother persona. Rose tries to get Albert to profess his long
suppressed love for her, leave the impresario business, and follow his dream of
being an English teacher. Kim’s father, Harry MacAfee (Jeffery Weaver), bemoans
the state of today’s teens while Conrad, like a hip-swinging pied piper, lures
the town’s teens into a night of partying, a conceit to allow yet another
flashy song-and-dance production number. Meanwhile, Kim takes a step toward
maturity while recognizing, with Rose’s help, just how problematic men are as
potential mates.
Sometimes secondary characters burst out with performances
that overshadow their leads, and that happens here. Gloria Rasputin (Shelleigh
Ferguson) is a distraction brought to Albert by his mother, but her
over-the-top introduction dance number was an absolute show-stopper and
unquestionably the high point of this entire production. Harvey Johnson (Chris
Campbell), a bit part in the telephone scene, shines at being exactly what he’s
supposed to be, a dorky nerd who stands out by being remarkable at being unremarkable.
The Mayor’s wife (Aya Hashiguchi), a “blink and you’ll miss it” role, did a
fine turn as the easily shocked fainting matron.
That’s not to say the primary characters did not have their strengths
and high points. To name just a few, Maricich’s Kim was thoroughly convincing
as a fifteen-year-old playing at budding maturity. Anderson, as Conrad Birdie,
did a solid job of singing and fancy footwork, but I wish he’d been given
costumes worthy of his very impressive dancing and moves. Weaver as Harry
MacAfee was delightfully middle American, especially when he was photo-bombing
his way onto the Ed Sullivan Show. As for the mothers, Ms. Bozzo did a fine turn
as Albert’s mother Mae, and Carrie Sleeper Bowers was solid as the stalwart and
even-handed Doris MacAfee.
Overall, the large ensemble song and dance numbers worked best,
and the younger actors who made up the bulk of them were, to an individual,
quite good at singing, dancing, and convincing teen characterizations. In some
of the smaller group numbers, what should have been tight three and four part
harmonies often came up short, but all the large ensemble song and dance numbers
were always solid and enjoyable. A good example is the impressive telephone
scene, where the teens, aided by excellent lighting design (by Pavlina Morris)
and a set composed of various levels and sizes of brightly patterned blocks (by
Blake York), form a phone tree to discuss the fact that Kim is going steady.
Sadly, the set, which worked so well for the telephone
number, did not do much for the other scenes. Costumes (Michele Graves) were
reliably period, though lacking the flash that often accompanies broad comedies
like this one. Terry O’Hara was both the musical director and the very solid
keyboard presence leading an otherwise passable quartet. Props (Karrie Nevin)
were unobtrusively appropriate, which is a good thing, and choreographer
Elizabeth Richmond Posluns, who certainly had her work cut out for her, did an
outstanding job of pulling together such a large and diversely talented set of
cast feet.
When all is said and done, Bye Bye Birdie at Tacoma Little
Theatre offers a chance to indulge in a rose-colored review of 1958 by watching
the solid singing and dancing of a group born long after that era had passed. With
luck, this pleasant bit of mid-century nostalgia will provide a welcome
vacation from the reality of today, and at least for older patrons, may take
you back to a fondly remembered period in history.
Bye Bye Birdie
May 9th to June 1st, 2014
