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Bringing Home 'Birdie'
The story follows songwriter Albert Peterson and his attempts to get a hit song performed by music sensation Conrad Birdie after the singer enlists in the Army. Peterson's fiancee, Rosie, comes up with a publicity stunt involving the teen idol and small-town teenager Kim MacAfee and a very public kiss. "It's a really different show than last year," said Ryan Howze, a senior who plays Kim's boyfriend, Hugo. "'Once on this Island' was more like an opera." "The kids really love the show; they're absolutely thrilled about it," said producer Lori DePoint, a vocal music teacher at Sweet Home. The show will run Friday through Sunday, March 7 through 9. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students and seniors for the Sunday performance. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 250-1261.
"Everybody likes the show, so we're putting everything we have into it," said junior Amanda Skinner who plays Mrs. MacAfee. "It's definitely more comedic than last year," said Andrea Gollhardt, a senior who plays Kim. "We haven't really done a lot of comedy, and the timing is really different." The students noted that the show's comedic aspect has been a challenge for them, especially given the dated nature of the production, which was originally written and performed in the 1960s. "It's an older musical so there are some things in there we don't get," Howze said. "But you have to act like you understand the jokes even if you don't because the audience will get them," added sophomore Michael Sheridan, who plays Conrad. "You have to pretend." But overall, the cast stressed that they're having fun with this year's selection and enjoying the experience because of the close-knit friendships they share. "There's a difference between going through the motions and intentionally acting," said senior Kelsey Mogensen. "We have a blast together, and you can see that onstage. It's definitely more fun because we're all friends." The students at Sweet Home are also aware that they'll have to compete for their audiences because several other high schools will be staging their musicals on the same weekend. "I've heard about a lot of the other shows happening that weekend so people definitely have a choice," Mogensen said. "But we have a blast, and I think that comes through." "It's definitely entertaining," added Sheridan. The students also noted that audiences will leave the theater after the "Bye Bye Birdie" performances in a good mood, an important thing if you're trying to win audiences back for next year. "It's a good feeling you get with a happy ending," Mogensen said. "It's definitely important for the audience to leave in a good mood."
"It's like the song says, 'Put On a Happy Face,'" added Albert, played by senior Ryan Wolf. |
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