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Michael Stewart’s Bye Bye Birdie
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Birdie hysteria has struck the small quite town of Sweet Apple, Ohio, in this musical production of the 50’s craze Bye Bye Birdie. Written by Michael Stewart, this 1961 Broadway musical tells of a story of an Elvis-type singer named Conrad Birdie (Jesse Pearson), who is drafted into the United States Army. Upon hearing the news of the teenage-idol’s depart, his devastated agent Albert Peterson (Dick Van Dyke), and his secretary Rosie Alvarez (Janet Leigh), concoct a promotional scheme to help get Albert out of debt and profit on all the excitement.The shrewd publicity stunt generates a wake of teenage hysteria which sweeps the entire nation. The arrangement is that Birdie will administer a final “good-bye” kiss on Kim MacAfee (Ann-Margret), a randomly chosen Conrad Birdie Fan Club member. This kiss, which will also be a symbolic fair-well to all his crazed fans across the nation, will be accompanied by Birdie singing Albert’s latest song, “One Last Kiss.” However, Birdie’s arrival in Kim’s hometown of Sweet Apple, Ohio, for the TV broadcast on the “Ed Sullivan Show,” creates havoc for all, including Kim’s father (Paul Lynde) and her boyfriend Hugo (Bobby Rydell). Inevitably, a heated feud is created between the genders, but all ends up fair in this musical tale of love and war.A main theme in this small town’s culture is the issue of gender and the division of roles between the two. Not uncommon for the 1950’s, many women were taught from a young age to find a good man, who could provide for them and a family, settle down and have children – the ideal “happy family.” As Harry states after singing the showstopper “Kids,” “I have the All-American family: A great wife, 2 wonderful kids and a good job.”It is also obvious within the very first scene, that Rosie and Kim have been brainwashed with this domesticated conception. They both seem to define themselves by the relationships they are in and the men they are with. Both women seem to dominate their relationships, although they often let the men think they are the ones in control. Kim explains at one point early on that ”the only job of a women is to change the man you want, into the man you want him to be,” proving that the women are the authoritative forces of the relationships.
