CPAM puts twist on feel-good classic ‘Bye Bye Birdie’
Children’s Performing Arts of Miamisburg opens its season with composer Charles Strouse, lyricist Lee Adams and librettist Michael Stewart’s 1960 musical comedy “Bye Bye Birdie,” a feel-good account of a small town in Ohio invaded by a rock ‘n’ roll teen idol, Oct. 26-Nov. 4 at Memorial Auditorium.
Featuring incredibly tuneful songs such as “Put on a Happy Face,” “Kids” and “A Lot of Livin’ to Do,” the show is steeped in 1950s innocence (“The Ed Sullivan Show” factors prominently) but is also undeniably dated.
So, how do you get a 21st century audience to appreciate bygone material?
Director Jake Lockwood initially thought to update the show complete with cell phones (“The Telephone Hour” is an Act 1 highlight) but ultimately decided to take a savvy period approach by embracing the impact of live television, which has had its an Emmy-winning musical renaissance in recent years.
“In the 1950s, live studio audiences were used for shows like ‘I Love Lucy’ and ‘The Honeymooners,’” he said.
“So, my idea is for the audience to enter Memorial Auditorium expecting to be in a live studio setting. We’re essentially doing a live taping of ‘Bye Bye Birdie.’ While the audience takes their seats, ‘stars’ and ‘celebrities’ will be called to the stage to take their places and there will be cameras on stage as well. It’ll hopefully have the same feeling as the recent NBC live musicals such as ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and ‘Hairspray.’ Although not much of the topical references in this show carry forward, the idea and themes definitely do.
This show doesn’t speak to our cell phone and technical age, but it still speaks to our social age.
Having a simple life but being happy is so much more important than having a complicated life and being rich.”
The principal cast includes David Shockey as Albert, Lily Meyers as Rosie, Cora Metz as Kim, and Bradley Scearce as Elvis Presley-esque Conrad Birdie.
The artistic team includes choreographer Annette Looper, vocal director Sherri Sutter and orchestra director Lorri B. Topping.
Performances are 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at Memorial Auditorium, South Sixth Street, Miamisburg. Tickets are $9-$11. For more information, visit cpamburg.com.
‘Fun Home’ in Beavercreek
Beavercreek Community Theatre presents lyricist/ librettist Lisa Kron and composer Jeanine Tesori’s 2015 Tony Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-nominated musical drama “Fun Home” Oct. 26-Nov. 4.
Based on lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir of the same name, the moving and unsettling yet often humorous musical concerns a family coping with identity, love, loss, regret, and secrets. Switching back and forth between the past and present, Alison recalls the mystery surrounding her father’s desires as well as the intriguing awakenings during her childhood, particularly playing at her family’s Bechdel Funeral Home (hence the title).
The material, presented as part of BCT’s edgy, alternative series and the first musical written entirely by women to win the Tony for Best Musical, is notably described as “a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.”
“‘Fun Home’ initially drew me in because of its compelling story and fantastic music,” explained director Matthew Owens, who staged “Young Frankenstein” for BCT last season.
“(However), the more we have worked with it, the more I have seen the power the show has to create empathy through representation.
When we tell someone’s story in an honest way, it helps our audiences relate to those people and increases their understanding of underrepresented groups and situations. I hope our representation of the Bechdel family does just that.”
The cast consists of Shanna Camacho as Alison, Samantha Stark as Medium Alison, Lauryn Templeton as Small Alison, Shawn Hooks as Bruce, Adee McFarland as Helen, Jenna De Gruy as Joan, Benjamin Jones as Christian, Eric Pettit as John, and Aaron Brewer as Roy and Others.
The dynamic score includes “Welcome to Our House on Maple Avenue,” “Come to the Fun Home,” “Changing My Major,” “Raincoat of Love,” “Ring of Keys” and “Days and Days.”
Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 3 p.m. Sundays at the Lofino Center, 3868 Dayton-Xenia Rd., Beavercreek. Tickets are $12-$15. For more information, call (937) 4294737 or visit bctheatre.org. Cincinnati Opera News Cincinnati Opera’s 99th Summer Festival, which will run from June 13-July 28, promises comedy, romance and a new work.
The lineup consists of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” ( June 13 and 15), Charles Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet” ( June 27 and 29), Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” ( July 6, 11, 13 and 14), The Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess” ( July 20, 25, 27 and 28), and Scott Davenport Richards and David Cote’s “Blind Injustice” ( July 22-27).
In particular, “Blind Injustice” is a new opera commissioned by Cincinnati Opera based on the true stories of wrongfully convicted persons freed by the Ohio Innocence Project.
For more information, visit cincinnatiopera.org
Contact this contributing writer at rflorence2@gmail.com.