Goodspeed's Fresh Take on BYE BYE BIRDIE Begins Tonight

The exuberant cast of BYE BYE BIRDIE will "spread sunshine all over the place" in this summertime sensation directed by Jenn Thompson. MS. Thompson's new take on this youthful classic includes two new songs, "BYE BYE BIRDIE" from the 1963 film and "A Mother Doesn't Matter Anymore" from the 1995 television presentation along with crisp new dance arrangements by accomplished composer of Broadway, film and television David Krane.

Everyone will love this fun-filled musical, running tonight, June 24, through September 4 at The Goodspeed in East Haddam, Conn. The Official Press Opening will be July 13, 2016.

Put on a happy face! Army-bound rock star Conrad Birdie's farewell appearance in Sweet Apple, Ohio is the talk of the town. But it's a teenage crisis for new "steadies" Hugo and Kim: she just won the chance to give Birdie one last kiss before boot camp. Kids, parents and show folk collide in the Goodspeed debut of the hip-swiveling musical comedy set at the dawn of the sensational '60s. Bring the entire family to discover we've got a lot of livin' to do!

BYE BYE BIRDIE features book by Michael Stewart; music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams. This rockin'-and- rollin' musical joyride will be sponsored by Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C.; The Lucille Lortel Foundation and Amica.

Rosie will be played by Janet Dacal whose Broadway credits include playing Alice in Wonderland, as well as roles in In the Heights, and Good Vibrations. Albert will be played by George Merrick who appeared in the Broadway productions of Honeymoon in Vegas, South Pacific, and High Fidelity. Tristen Buettel will play Kim, and Alex Walton will play Hugo.

Goodspeed favorite Donna English will play Mrs. MacAfee. Her Goodspeed credits include last years' hit My Paris, Princesses, and The Gig at The Terris Theatre and Half A Sixpence, On The Twentieth Century, They All Laughed, On The Town, and Follow Thru at The Goodspeed. On Broadway, Ms. English has performed in numerous productions including Living on Love, Nice Work If You Can Get It, and Lend Me A Tenor.

Warren Kelley who appeared in the Goodspeed productions of Dear World at The Terris Theatre and Houdini at The Goodspeed, will play Mr. MacAfee. Ben Stone-Zelman who made his Goodspeed debut in last season's A Wonderful Life will play Randolph.

Conrad Birdie will be played by Rhett Guter who performed as Riff in the International Tour of West Side Story. Mae Peterson will be played by Kristine Zbornik who returns to The Goodspeed where she previously gave a hilarious performance as Sister in Damn Yankees and performed as the Housekeeper in the revival of Man of La Mancha in 2000. On Broadway, Ms. Zbornik appeared as Myra in A Catered Affair. Dorcas Leung will play Ursula.

The ensemble includes Paul Aguirre (Mayor) who played Angie the Ox in Goodspeed's Guys and Dolls and appeared on Broadway in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Emily Applebaum, Hannah Bradley, Lauren Fijol (Gloria), Jeremiah Ginn who appeared in Goodspeed's hit production of Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn, and Kristen Hoagland who performed as Young Jennie in The Terris Theatre production of The Circus In Winter. Joining them will be Michael James, Logan Scott Mitchell, Brittany Nicholas who served as swing for Billy Elliot on Broadway, Eddie Olmo II, Marci Reid who appeared in the Goodspeed productions of Call Me Madam, and Me & My Girl, Jake Swain and Branch Woodman (Maude) who Goodspeed audiences may remember from his performances in Call Me Madam and George M! On Broadway Mr. Woodman appeared in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, BYE BYE BIRDIE, and Crazy For You. The swings will be Austen Danielle Bohmer and Michal Kolaczkowski. Tyler Manemeit will understudy the role of Randolph.

BYE BYE BIRDIE will be directed by Jenn Thompson who recently served as Co-Artistic Director at TACT NYC. MS. Thompson has directed numerous Off-Broadway productions including Women Without Men (2016 Drama Desk Nominee for Outstanding Director of a Play), 2015 Off-Broadway Alliance Award-Winner Abundance (also at Hartford Stage), and the first NYC revival of Neil Simon's Lost In Yonkers with script revisions approved by Mr. Simon (2012 Drama Desk Nomination For Best Revival.) Most recently she directed the current TheaterWorks Hartford production The Call.

Choreography will be by Patricia Wilcox whose Broadway credits include Motown The Musical and A Night with Janis Joplin. Her Off-Broadway credits include Children's Letters to God, Blues in the Night, the National Tour and PBS special Bowfire, and the National Tour of Seussical.

Scenic Design will be by Tobin Ost whose most recent Broadway credits include the acclaimed comedy Disaster!, Jekyll & Hyde, Newsies for which he earned a Tony Nomination, and Bonnie and Clyde. Costumes will be designed by David Toser. Over the years Mr. Toser has designed over fifty productions for Goodspeed Musicals. His numerous Broadway credits include Oh Coward!, Take Me Along, Little Johnny Jones, Whoopee!, Very Good Eddie and Going Up. Lighting Design will be by Philip Rosenberg, who designed the Broadway productions of The Elephant Man, It's Only a Play, and A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder. Sound Design will be by Jay Hilton who is in his 31st season at Goodspeed. Hair and Wig Design will be by Mark Adam Rampmeyer whose work can been seen at The Goodspeed in the current production of Anything Goes as well as last summer's smash hit La Cage aux Folles, The Most Happy Fella, Good News!, Something's Afoot, 42nd Street, Big River and Half a Sixpence, to name a few. On Broadway, he designed West Side Story, Lysistrata Jones and The Farnsworth Invention.

Dance Arrangements will be by Broadway, television and film composer/arranger David Krane. A protege of Leonard Bernstein, Mr. Krane has composed dance music and arrangements for twenty-nine Broadway musicals and numerous films, including "Chicago," "Annie" and the recent film version of Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods." A few of his favorite Broadway credits include 110 in the Shade, La Cage aux Folles, Cabaret, Man of La Mancha, Oklahoma! (Hugh Jackman), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Chita Rivera), The Music Man, Big (Susan Stroman), Ragtime, Victor/Victoria (Julie Andrews), and Damn Yankees. Mr. Krane also provided orchestrations for Goodspeed's Good News!, The Great American Backstage Musical and High Button Shoes.

The Music Director for BYE BYE BIRDIE will be Michael O'Flaherty who is in his 25thseason as Goodspeed's Resident Music Director. F. Wade Russo will be assistant music director. Orchestrations will be provided by Dan DeLange who has orchestrated for The Jim Henson Company, Julie Andrews, Rosie O'Donnell, Live Theatricals at Universal Studios, and composers Paul Williams, Jerry Herman, Harvey Schmitt, Charles Strouse, Peter Link, and Mark Hollman. His scores have been heard on Broadway, National and European tours, film, television, and at regional theaters around the world, including over 40 productions at Goodspeed Musicals. His orchestrations can also be currently heard in the West End production of Show Boat at the New London Theatre in London. Casting for BYE BYE BIRDIE is by Paul Hardt of SH Entertainment.

BYE BYE BIRDIE will run June 24 - September 4, 2016 [Official Press Opening July 13, 2016]. Curtain times are Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (with select performances at 2:00 p.m.), Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (with select performances at 6:30 p.m.).

Tickets are available through the Box Office (860.873.8668), open seven days a week, or online at goodspeed.org. For show highlights, exclusive photos, special events and more, visit us at goodspeed.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter @goodspeedmusicl, Instagram and YouTube.

Under the leadership of Executive Director Michael Gennaro, Goodspeed Musicals is dedicated to the preservation, development and advancement of musical theatre. Goodspeed produces three musicals each season at The Goodspeed in East Haddam, Conn., and additional productions at The Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals. The first regional theatre to receive two Tony Awards (for outstanding achievement), Goodspeed also maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre. Goodspeed gratefully acknowledges the support of United Airlines, the official airline of Goodspeed Musicals, and official auto sponsor Hoffman Audi. Goodspeed is supported in part by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development with support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts.

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