Why BYE BYE BIRDIE Returns to Broadway After Nearly 50 Years, According to the New York Times

There is no doubt that Bye Bye Birdie is one of this season's most highly anticipated shows.  With an all star cast that includes John Stamos and Gina Gershon, and having the cache of being one of the most popular musicals of all time, critics and audience members alike are eager to see what this revival will bring--48 years after it last left Broadway.  As the New York Times points out in a special Birdie feature out recently, the show is not an easy revival, and has had a string of productions starring major players (such as Tommy Tune and Ann Reinking in the 1991 road show) that received a lukewarm reception. 

In the New York Times feature, Charles McGrath examines just why it has taken almost 50 years to resurrect what some would say is a "sure thing" on Broadway.  At the crux of the problem: casting. Read McGrath's feature here.

Still, according to the Times, director Robert Longbottom was eager, though hesitant to resurrect even this revival, though was ultimately compelled by the challenge of finding just the right players.  He tells the paper: "I think the score of ‘Bye Bye Birdie' is greatly underappreciated, with a lot of terrific songs. It's a classic American musical. I've never understood, for example, why ‘Baby, Talk to Me' didn't become a Frank Sinatra standard...Even so, "I wanted to see what it felt like to reinvent all those iconic roles."

Bye Bye Birdie, a Roundabout Production, is currently in previews at the New Henry Miller's Theatre and will officially open on Thursday, October 15th.  Stamos and Gershon are joined by Jayne Houdyshell (Mrs. Mae Peterson), Dee Hoty (Mrs. MacAfee), Matt Doyle (Hugo Peabody), Jake Evan Schwencke (Randolph MacAfee) & Allie Trimm (Kim MacAfee). Robert Longbottom directs and choreographs Bye Bye Birdie with a book by Michael Stewart, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams.

In Bye Bye Birdie, the rock n' roll musical comedy, it's 1960 and hip-swingin' teen idol superstar Conrad Birdie (Funk) has been drafted into the army. Birdie's manager Albert (Stamos) and his secretary Rosie (Gershon) have cooked up a plan to send him off with a swell new song and one last kiss from a lucky teenage fan... on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Tickets are available online at www.byebyebirdieonbroadway.com or by phone at (212)239-6200. Ticket prices range from $86.50 - $136.50. To become a Roundabout subscriber visit www.roundabouttheatre.org or call Roundabout Ticket Services (212)719-1300.

Bye Bye Birdie plays Tuesday through Saturday evening at 8:00PM with Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00PM.