The Loveable Bye Bye Birdie

A review by Roberto Borgert


Bye Bye Birdie can be described in one word: corny. Just take a look at the character of Harvey Johnson, played wonderfully by Daniel Larson. Harvey Johnson is your typical fifties white kid: bowtie, glasses that could pick up television signals, a cracking high pitched voice and pants worn so high that your grandparents would be ashamed to look at him. In the midst of all that silliness, Harvey Johnson is a memorable character. He is innocent, somewhat confused and is an adolescent. These are the kinds of characters to be found in Bye Bye Birdie, characters that you remember, even though there really is nothing extravagant or elegant about them (with a few exceptions of course). The unbridled cockiness and risqué factor of Conrad Birdie, played by DongJun Kim, created some amazing moments in the play. I will always remember watching Jun pelvic thrusting with gusto and exclaiming phrases such as “Hug me” and “suffer,” not to mention my all around favorite line of the play, “When I sing about a tree, I really feel that tree.”

Having first seen the musical at the school performance I approached it with much skepticism. I had seen the original Bye Bye Birdie done on film starring Dick Van Dyke, and I was not impressed. I foresaw an excruciating two and a half hours of songs that meant nothing and Hollywood’s attempt to milk a few more dollars off the image of Elvis Presley. Truthfully speaking, after watching the school performance my outlook on the play hadn’t changed much. Yes, it had some moments of entertainment, but I really didn’t feel affected by the play at all. It was only after spending a weekend ushering and watching the play two more times that I started to understand its genius.

Bye Bye Birdie is not a serious play; there is no getting around that. Bye Bye Birdie is a play oriented around fun. There are jokes in it that are meant to be corny. Take a look at the scene where Harry MacAfee, played by John Dwyer, breaks into song because he heard the name “Ed Sullivan” and is later accompanied by a choir of adults in repeating that name over and over again, ending with Mr. Dwyer on his knees pronouncing his undying love for Ed Sullivan. Look at the character Albert Peterson, played by Peter Baker. Albert is completely and totally a momma’s boy. You would hardly think he had matured past the age of twelve (if even that) by the way he is constantly looking for her approval and will bend over to anything she says. On that note, Mrs. May Peterson, Meghan Murphy, has got to be one of the most obnoxious characters in American Drama. She is constantly dropping borderline politically incorrect lines and is nothing more than a whining, complaining, and pitiful excuse for a mother. Yet for some unknown reason Mrs. Peterson is enjoyable to watch on stage.

For those in-depth seekers of a greater meaning in theater there is also a social commentary to be had in this play. Now, I don’t know much about the play and virtually nothing about who wrote it or composed the scores, but I believe that there is a harsh criticism of popular culture hidden beneath the happy, obnoxious, dance lines. Conrad Birdie is not only a part of the lives of the young girls of Sweet Apple, Ohio, but the mere thought of Conrad has gone so far as to consume the young female culture of the small town. Ursula, played by Valerie Bloomberg, is one of these women; she confesses that she is reduced to a “raging, panting, jungle beast!” by the mere sound of Conrad Birdie’s voice. This idolization of pop figures is present even in today’s society. And, as it is in Bye Bye Birdie, today’s idolization of pop figures is at most, laughable. Almost two weeks ago, the biggest news stories were those of how Britney Spears shaved her head. Where are the stories about the Iraq War, of Scooter Libby’s trial? These stories, which actually shape our lives and our country, are not given the time on our daily news broadcasts that they deserve simply because some deranged singer shaved her head or perhaps an extremely rich diva got arrested for speeding. Enough ranting about our media. I do think that Bye Bye Birdie has an element of criticism within it that should, at the very least, have some thought given to it.

Saint Johns Prep’s production of Bye Bye Birdie is solid. It is funny, silly, obnoxious and lovable all at the same time. There is a very talented cast, and it is apparent that there was a lot of hard work put into producing the show. All in all, it’s a great show and if you didn’t see it this last weekend you definitely missed out on a great example of what prep students can do. It is well deserving of four out of five stars.