‘Bye Bye Birdie' opens at PAC
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| Jacob Pearson (right) of Spring Valley, portraying musical sensation Conrad Birdie, selects a lucky fan during a dress rehearsal of the summer youth musical “Bye Bye Birdie.” The show opens at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Thursday, at the Prairie Arts Center in Princeton and includes performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. The musical production is a satire based on Elvis Presley's draft into the U.S. Army. To order tickets, call (815) 872-0093. (BCR photo/Kevin Marsh) |
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PRINCETON — The Prairie Arts Council is gearing up for its sixth annual summer youth musical, “Bye Bye Birdie,” which opens tonight, Thursday. The production will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Prairie Arts Center, 24 Park Ave. East. To order tickets, call (815) 872-0093.
Shelley Gorenz again serves as director, having also directed past youth productions of “Cinderella,” “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown - Revised,” and “The Sound of Music.”
“She’s a glutton for punishment,” laughs her daughter, Rachel Gorenz, who will be portraying Rose Alvarez in “Birdie.” “But I have such a great time doing theater, and my mom makes it possible for me and all the other cast members to have these experiences. It’s also a great opportunity to keep in touch with people who love the theater as much as I do. Basically, I spend the summer with my best friends, and I include my mom in that group, doing what I love to do.”
The musical production is a satire based on Elvis Presley’s draft into the army. When record label owner Albert Peterson’s top client, Conrad Birdie, is drafted into the army, thereby ending any chance of Albert getting out of debt, Albert and his secretary/girlfriend concoct a plan: write one final song, pick a young female fan at random, take Conrad Birdie to her hometown, have Conrad sing to and kiss the lucky girl on television, and release what’s bound to be the record of the century — “One Last Kiss.” Unfortunately, Kim, the young fan chosen, has just gotten “pinned” to her “steady,” Hugo, who’s not so thrilled about his “steady” kissing a rock star.
Add in Kim’s parents, not to mention Albert’s smotheringly overprotective mother, and the hilarity unfolds into a spectacular show which include well known and well loved songs such as “The Telephone Hour,” “Put on a Happy Face,” “Kids,” and “A Lot of Living.”
The cast of “Bye Bye Birdie” includes youth from Sublette, DePue, Spring Valley, Tiskilwa, Hennepin, LaSalle, Peru, Dalzell, Gran-ville, Bradford, Sheffield, and Standard.
“One of the things I enjoy most is that we’re drawing kids from all over the Illinois Valley, not just in Princeton,” Shelley said.
“I did the show last year and it was fun, and I really like the show ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ so I knew I wanted to do it again,” said cast member Adriana Ladage of Hennepin. “It’s totally worth the gas money.”
Norm Engstrom, professor of theater and music at Illinois Valley Community College, serves as the musical director, while Mary Schallhorn, piano instructor at Illinois Valley Community College, is accompanist, and Stephen Michael Kwiatek of LaSalle is serving as both an ensemble member and choreographer.
“I love the high energy of the show,” Kwiatek said. “I’ve never choreographed before, so this is a really fun challenge.”
Cast members enjoy the challenges of musical theater, as well.
“I can’t dance, but Steve is really patient, so I’m learning,” said cast member Ryan Behrends of Tiskilwa.
