By Guy Gardner
Head into the garage and pull out your tarp, blanket, and chairs of varying levels. It’s almost time to make your bi-weekly trip to Theatre in the Park for the summer!
Theatre in the Park is back for its 55th season a great OUTDOOR entertainment, and we are kicking off our summer season with a story of romance, teenage angst, parental panic, and more. I’m sure no one can relate with ANY of those themes. But…we are sure you can suspend belief for one evening.
“Bye Bye Birdie” opens our season, which originally opened on Broadway in 1960 starring Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera.
Director Emily Vargo returns to helm her second production with Theatre in the Park after 2022’s “Zombie Prom.”
“Audiences will enjoy “Bye Bye Birdie” for the energy of the show,” Vargo says. “I think there is something special about shows written in the 50s/60s – written to showcase what life was like at that time! The plot is fairly simple, it doesn’t overcomplicate itself, and it shows what relationships and culture was like at that time. The characters are all well thought out, and the dialogue is witty and charming.”
This is the fourth time TIP has produced the show, the most recent being 18 years ago in 2006. Yes…somehow 2006 was 18 years ago. Let’s move on.
Picture this: a small town in Ohio where the local teenagers are buzzing like bees in a soda shop. Kim MacAfee, Sweet Apple’s sweetheart, is at the center of it all, with every girl wishing they were in her saddle shoes. But when Conrad Birdie rolls into town like a tornado in a Cadillac, it’s Kim’s world that gets turned upside down faster than you can say “Elvis who?”
But it’s not just Kim who’s feeling the heat. Albert Peterson, Conrad’s harried manager, is trying to keep his head above water while navigating the choppy waters of showbiz and romance. And Rosie Alvarez, his secretary slash girlfriend slash keeper, isn’t about to let him forget it.
In a season with strong female characters at the forefront of the stories, “Bye Bye Birdie” also has mostly females at the helm. “We also have a mostly female creative team! Myself, our music director, our stage manager, our accompanist, our props designer, our co-choreographer, and our assistant stage managers are all women,” Vargo said.“ Which helps looking at the show through the “lens” of Rosie, as opposed to Albert as is traditionally done.”
So “Put on a Happy Face” and join us when “Bye Bye Birdie” opens May 31 and runs through June 8 at Theatre in the Park. Showtime is 8:30 pm with the box office opening at 7 pm and the gates at 7:30 pm. Order reserved seats early and take your time getting to the theater as the seat will be ready and waiting for you. Reserved seats are just $20.
Anytime tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for ages 4-10, and children under 3 are free, but a ticket is required. Discounted tickets are available during the Thrifty Thursday performance (June 6) and can only be purchased at the box office.
After your fun night out at “Bye Bye Birdie,” make plans for the rest of the outdoor season which includes “Anastasia,” “Anything Goes,” “Hello, Dolly!,” and “Sister Act.” More information can be found at theatrienthepark.org.
