BWW Reviews: The Renaissance Players' BYE BYE BIRDIE Brings Nostalgic Fun and Frivolity To The Stage

You have to hand it to Carl Blunt and Brad Burns-who play Albert Peterson and Conrad Birdie in The Renaissance Players' production of Bye Bye Birdie, the classic 1960 musical onstage through June 17 in Dickson-both men do their best, but they are overshadowed by their female costars Michelle Valenti and Marilyn Fair, who command the stage with their charm, their presence and their confidence.

Valenti (playing Rose Alvarez, Albert's girl Friday/girlfriend) and Fair (as his overbearing mother, Mae Peterson) pretty much dominate the action as they deliver perfectly-timed, expertly crafted performances as the two women in feckless Albert's life, ensuring that a good time will be had by all in the fast-moving, quick-paced and altogether entertaining show. Directed and choreographed by Bryan J. Wlas (who celebrated a birthday during the show's first weekend of shows) with musical direction by Nathan W. Brown, Bye Bye Birdie offers a delightfully nostalgic look back at the beginnings of rock-star idolatry and the evolving manners and social mores of the early 1960s.

In order to capitalize on the publicity generated by Conrad going into the army, Albert Peterson has written a new song-"One Last Kiss"-to be performed on the hugely popular Ed Sullivan Show on one extra-special Sunday night, with Sweet Apple's own Kim MacAfee (the engaging Stephanie Wright) on-hand to claim Birdie's "one last kiss" as her own. Albert, Rose and company make the trip to Ohio, upending the peaceful calm of Sweet Apple, stirring up some turmoil and starting all manner of hullabaloo in the process.

With a book by Michael Stewart, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, Bye Bye Birdie is loosely based on real events: the drafting into the U.S. Army of the swivel-hipped pride of Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis Presley. Even the teen idol at the center of the show, Conrad Birdie, owes his moniker to a budding rock star of the time, Conway Twitty, who went on to country music stardom and became a fixture in Music City USA, aka Nashville.

Bye Bye Birdie is a witty takeoff on those actual events, with Conrad Birdie's manager Albert Peterson battling his mother for control of his own life while coming to terms with his relationship with Rose, his long-suffering girlfriend. Were it not for the terrific tunes in the show's score, Conrad could almost be relegated to a subplot-yet somehow the show's structure works and succeeds in telling its entertaining tale with some early '60s style and panache. In fact, consider this: Had there not been a Bye Bye Birdie, there certainly could not have been a Grease, the Broadway musical most likely to be associated with that particular era of American pop culture.

Most impressive, insofar as The Renaissance Players' production is concerned, is the musical's chorus of spirited, rambunctious and energetic teenagers who bring the high school hijinks of Sweet Apple, Ohio, to life with a sense of controlled abandon. Led by Wright as the lovely Kim MacAfee and the versatile M. Zane Jordan as Hugo Peabody, the boy to whom she was pinned only moments before she got the call that Conrad Birdie would be planting his "one last kiss" on her. MacAfee and Jordan give focused performances that are sweetly evocative of a much-earlier era, and they are given ample support by the talented roster of younger actors assembled by director Wlas from among the burgeoning ranks of The Renaissance Players.

The teenagers in the chorus infuse the show with so much energy that every scene in which they are featured tends to stand out from among all the others in the show, and they perform their songs ("The Telephone Hour" remains the show's standout number) with a barely suppressed glee that makes them all the more relatable and accessible as the show's plot progresses. Kudos to Jordan Grace Hartwell, Karissa Wheeler, Taylor Blunt, Rachel Jackson, Elen Amoroso, Kimberly Rye, Logan Steinbarge, Shane Kopischke, Abbie Adkerson, Zacarey Adkerson, Tate Blunt, Genesis Crnolatas, Nick Fair, Ashton Frey, Kedzie Frey, Hannah Grant, Andy Gunn and Kaylee Hodges.

Valenti's high-spirited Rose gives the show a much-needed punch and her expert delivery makes her musical numbers (particularly "Spanish Rose") highlights of the productions. Fair's comic timing and her confident portrayal ensure that Mae gets the lioness' share of laughs from the audience and her fearless mugging is ideally suited to her character's over-the-top personality.

Blunt is well-cast as Albert, looking for all the world like the lovable schlub his character is written to be, and he plays well opposite Valenti and Fair although he clearly lacks the polish and onstage experience of his two co-stars. Burns shows great promise as the swivel-hipped, lip-curled Conrad Birdie ("One Last Kiss" and "Honestly Sincere" sound period-precise), but he needs more of the requisite swagger to pull off his character.

Laura Williams and Nathan Jansen are fine as Kim's beleaguered parents and Jed Jordan shows off his family's theatrical genes as younger brother Randolph. Carey Thompson is well-cast as the mayor of Sweet Apple, with Megan Gallup stealing the spotlight as Gloria Rasputin.

- Bye Bye Birdie. Book by Michael Stewart. Music by Charles Strouse. Lyrics by Lee Adams. Directed and choreographed by Bryan J. Wlas. Music direction by Nathan W. Brown. Presented by The Renaissance Players at The Renaissance Center, Dickson. Through June 17. For details, call (615) 740-5600 or go to www.rcenter.org for further details.

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