What: "Bye, Bye Birdie," presented by The Little Theatre of Jefferson City.
When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15-17, each evening and an additional matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Where: Miller Performing Arts Center in Jefferson City.
Tickets: $20 available at the Miller Center box office from 5-7 p.m. Jan. 12-14 and from 5-7:30 p.m. on show nights or by calling 573-681-9400.
_
The captivating 1960s Tony-award winning musical "Bye, Bye Birdie" is the January show for The Little Theatre of Jefferson City.
According to director Cindy Jobe, " This is a satire on the induction of Elvis Presley into the Army in the late 1950s. All the action in the show takes place around this event."
"We have many teens in the show," Jobe said, "and many musical numbers that the audience will be familiar with."
These include: "Put on a Happy Face," "Whole Lot of Living to Do," and the telephone hour song.
The basic plot revolves around rock "n' roll idol Conrad Birdie, played by Timothy Bommel, who is to be inducted into the Army. The story unfolds when agent and songwriter Albert Peterson, played by Tom Baker, is encouraged by his girlfriend Rose Alverez, played by Julia Tolksdorf, to write a special song "One Last Kiss." Alverez uses this as a publicity stunt to help promote Peterson's career. She selects a fan from the list of fan clubs and plans for Birdie to sing the song and plant the kiss on national television. This leads to various comedic situations and chaos for the small Ohio town where the fan lives.
The star struck teen, Kim MacAfee, is played by Laura Miserez.
Complicating the situation is the jealously of Kim's boyfriend, Hugo, played by Jack Tren, and her befuddled father and mother, played by Don Otto and Sherry Hoskins. The hysteria that Birdie's appearance creates in town is shown by Kim's best friend, Ursula, played by Shephanie Scott.
Assisting Jobe with the production is Megan Wadley and production manager Sherry Hoskins.
According to Jobe, the set that she designed with the help of Keith Enloe is artistic. Scenes are done on a spin with one set in front and another in back and in shadow boxes.
The show has many dance numbers, and is choreographed by Katy Howland. The musical director is Patrick Clark. This is his first time with TLT but has a large repertoire as professor at the University of Missouri.
Costumes are designed by Maria Bish and set decoration is by Marsha Stegemann.
"This is definitely a family-friendly show which we hope our audiences will enjoy" Jobe said.