WISH-LIST WEDNESDAY: Bye Bye Birdie

Artwork for Bye Bye Birdie

I'm posting from New York this week, so going with a broadway classic from the 60s. A combined effort between Charles Strouse (music), Lee Adams (lyrics), and Michael Stewart (book), this Elvis Presley inspired musical comedy premiered on broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld) in 1960, with a mostly positive critical response, especially praising the largely inexperienced creative team. This production starred Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera as Albert and Rose respectively, the latter of whom reprised her role when the show opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in the west end the following year.

The story is based on Elvis's drafting into the army in 1957, with the rock star character he inspired, "Conrad Birdie", being a play on words of the eventual country and western singer Conway Twitty, who at the time was one of Elvis's rock and roll rivals. Van Dyke and featured performer Paul Lynde both reprised their respective role when the show was adapted into a movie, with Janet Leigh playing the role of Rosie.

Chita Rivera and Dick Van Dyke in Bye Bye Birdie

After being revived on broadway in 2009, starring John Stamos, Bye Bye Birdie, most recently performed at the Kennedy Centre in 2024, with a cast led by Christian Borle and Krysta Rodriguez, however sadly the show has not been seen in a professional capacity in the UK since the 1960s.