The spring musical Bye Bye Birdie will begin on Friday, April 26 at Dominion. The 1963 musical is the story of a rock singer who travels to a small Ohio town to make his “farewell” television performance and kiss his biggest fan before he is drafted.  

Inspired by Elvis Presley’s drafting and subsequent military service, “Bye Bye Birdie” was a consensus decision by many individuals. “It was a collaborative effort between Mr. Schiffler, Ms. Nguyen, Ms. Wood and myself,” Doc Worth (Doc) said. “We went through a list of 15 different musicals we could do, looked at the talent we have to pick from so we could have a live orchestra, and Bye Bye Birdie was our best choice.”

Playing Albert Peterson, Josh Thomas, found himself relating with his role. He is really spunky and kind of all over the place. He is a momma’s boy, he tries to please his mom,” Thomas said. “I am kind of energetic and all over the place too and sometimes I can be a momma’s boy. But in the end, when more important things come, that’s where I divert my focus to, just like my character would.”

The play will have a live orchestra, a fact that made Doc extremely happy, “Frequently we haven’t had one [a live orchestra]. It’s exciting, we have 18 people in the pit and that’s going to make for some really great music.”

Over the summer, many thought the theatre program might have been cancelled but it returned, and that experience seems to have changed the interest in the program. “I think it’s like anything, when there’s a moment you think it’s going to be lost, you stop taking it for granted and really invest yourself in its success. I think the kids, when they thought there wouldn’t be a program and then found out there would be a program, got very dedicated to making the program successful,” Doc said.

The theatre program is thrilled to present this show as a lot of thought has been put into it. Doc has high hopes for this production and strongly believes that it will be the best fit. “I think it relates to a lot of the students here. Are they following their own dream or are they following someone else’s dream?,” she explained. The musical is not only meant to deliver a lesson to the audience, but also to entertain. “In a world where there is so much tragedy, it’s going to be 2-3 hours of just laughing and having fun.”

The theatre department has put a lot of time and effort into the upcoming shows, and they are counting on a good turnout. “I really just hope people come and have a really good time watching kids sing and dance. It’s a really funny show. It’s hysterical,” Doc said.

Show Times:

April 26 – 7:30PM

April 27 – 7:30PM

April 28 – 3:00 PM

May 3 – 7:30 PM

May 4 – 7:30 PM

May 5 – 3:00 PM