Kids! You can talk and talk til your face is blue! Kids! But they still do just what they want to do! And they want to be laughing, singing, dancing, grinning— sensations! And while we’re on the subject— Kids! They’re at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland kicking off the 2024/2025 season with their production of Bye Bye Birdie! Complete with lots of moonlight swims and loop-da-loops! Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans, and Choreography by James Hunnicutt, this classic gem from the musical theatre canon is just chock-a-block with talent and it’s a good fun time. If you’re real lucky, you might even get to go on down to the icehouse (what’s at the icehouse? I don’t know, ice, I guess!)
It’s a fun and free-loving 1950’s set brought together by Technical Director and Set Designer/Master of Construction Diane M. Smith, assisted by Scenic Artist Laura Miller. You get the 50’s vibes from the fixtures on the wall and the painted backdrop that could easily be New York City or Sweet Apple, Ohio. Nothing overly complex but still perfectly professional and polished looking, giving these young performers the chance to have a great space to play on and a refined look for the overall production. The whole team is putting in an A+ effort to get these very modern young performers of 2024 looking like the teens and adults of a bygone era; Costume Coordinator Tiffany Lynn Zellner and her assistant Theresa Foggo are really giving you all the 50’s energies and styles— everything from the poodle skirt and hair ribbon, to the fitted-tailored skirt suits for Rosie, the flare-swing dresses, and the pedal-pusher pants. And they’re styled out in a multitude of colors and patterns to give each character a unique look that’s appropriate for the time. Add in the Lighting Design work of Thomas P. Gardner and these kids are ready for a great performance that really accents and augments their singing and dancing talent.
Choreographer James Hunnicutt is keeping the moves simple and clean but wildly energetic, particularly when these young performers are bouncing along during “Sincere” and “A Lot of Livin’ to Do.” You get an incredible dance/soft-shoe-tap corpse featured with Albert during “Put on a Happy Face” where eight dancers— Lily Anderson, Ella Bell, Katelynn Cockey, Emily Foggo, Cecilia May, Finley McCully, Gracie Roberts, Theresa Smith— and one Sad Girl (Brynn Blair) get to do some really impressive side-along moves to the tune. It’s great to watch these gals in action and it gives you a sense of the era’s dance style. And although the Gloria Rasputin character (Amelia Christine Trageser) doesn’t exactly get her own number, that drop-slide-split that she does after being introduced to Albert is pretty impressive.
Musically, Charlotte Evans has these youngsters well in hand (and Lisa Wood on live-show percussion keeps them in rhythm from start to finish too!) They deliver powerful ensemble numbers, especially when there’s just a few of them onstage like during “Kids” and its reprise, or for “The Telephone Hour” which appears to involve a lot of round-robin and counterpoint singing. You get big full, boisterous sounds from “A Healthy, Normal American Boy” too and Evans’ work with the quartet during “Baby, Talk To Me,” which is a number featuring Albert and four barbershop-quartet style harmonists— Luke DiBello, Brady Katzenberger, Pablo Castro-Mendez, Tobin Shoul. Castro-Mendez doubles up as Maude in that scene, throwing Hugo out of the bar and it’s hilarious while you get this glorious high-falsetto sound from DiBello at the end of the number.
Both Director Liz Boyer Hunnicutt and Musical Director Charlotte Evans do a great job pulling the ensemble together to create a cohesive, enjoyable production. (And shoutout to Stage Manager Anne Marie Freeburger, with Stage Crew Chief Clover Wellons and Stage Crew Hands Amy Bell and Carson Stewart for all of their backstage magic that keeps the show moving swiftly forward!) The ensemble— Lily Anderson, Ella Bell, Kaitlyn Bell, Mars Bell, Brynn Blair, Zoey Cashin, Meghan Chrzanowski, Katelynn Cockey, Mikael Dagnatchew, Luke DiBello, Emily Foggo, Alexandra Friese, Lily Guchemand, Danny Harrer, Brady Katzenberger, Selena Mason, Cecilia May, Finley McCully, Lucas Castro-Mendez, Pablo Castro-Mendez, Temperance Oppel, Gracie Roberts, Tobin Shoul, Theresa Smith, Amelia Christine Trageser— create some truly iconic moments all throughout, especially when they all start faint-collapsing at the end of “Sincere.” Keep your eye on Kaitlyn Bell, playing The Mayor’s Wife in that number, she flat-drops at least half-a-dozen times and it’s hysterical! Mikael Dagnatchew is also one to watch, playing the adorkable (adorable + dorky = adorkable) Harvey Johnson; he’s the bees’ knees during “The Telephone Number” trying to get a date! Dagnatchew is excellent at chewing scenery in the background as well, during “One Last Kiss” watch his antics as the TV Studio producer trying to wrangle Mr. MacAfee out of the camera-shot and keep everyone else in line; it’s really hilarious! And you won’t soon forget Mars Bell as the shrieking, shrilling, moody-tude teenager Ursula Merkle, who just cannot get over the fact that Kim is giving up the presidency of the Conrad Birdie Fan-Club. Bell is a scream, particularly when she’s screaming at the ice house, and Bell takes point on the trio of Sweet Apple Teens (Mars Bell, Brynn Blair, Gracie Roberts) who sit outside the MacAfee household window singing “We Love You Conrad” 10,000 times.
The MacAfee Family includes the bombastically boisterous little brother Randolph (Ronald Gusso) who is just the epitome of an adorable and obnoxious ‘second child.’ You get a great sound of out Gusso during “Kids (Reprise)” in the second act and he plays well with Mr. Harry MacAfee (Xander Bell) for every interaction the son-father duo shares. Bell, as the loudly edgy ‘Man of the House’ is comedic gold in the role. He roars and shouts but then gives a completely becalmed and genial moment of gushing sincerely when he learns he and his family are meant to be on the Ed Sullivan Show. You get a great showcase of Bell’s voice during “Hymn for a Sunday Evening” and against during “Kids”, but watch his dancing antics during “One Last Kiss” it’s hysterical. Don’t forget poor Doris MacAfee (Callie Fey), who is fraught with trying to keep her household in line amid the chaos that is Conrad Birdie, and of course just isn’t adjusting very well to being called ‘Doris’ by her teenage daughter.
Playing the upstart teen Kim McAfee, Angelina Ferris has a solid soprano sound that slides easily through “How Lovely to Be a Woman” and glistens when paired off with both Rosie during “What Did I Ever See in Him?” and when she’s singing sweetly to Hugo F. Peabody (Jack Atkins) during “One Boy.” The ‘going-steady’ chemistry that Ferris and Atkins share feels genuine and it’s hilarious to watch Atkins’ character lose his mind and his temper and his cool when he thinks his one special gal is going to be kissed by rock-n-roll legend Conrad Birdie. Both of these young teen performers bring a dynamic depth to their respective roles and watching them together while Ferris sings “One Boy” at him (with back-up vocals from Lily Anderson as Penelope and Finley McCully as Helen) is just so sweet!
Trying to steal the show with her granny-cadence and to-die-for vocal affectation, Amelia Auvil as Mae Peterson is so hilarious she’ll have you busting a gut in stitches with all of her antics and shenanigans. (The stage version never gave the Mae Peterson character the song from the film.) Auvil has the character of Mae Peterson masterfully in hand and really earns each and every laugh she gets from the audience when carrying on in her too-dramatic fashion about ‘having a condition’ and how a ‘mother doesn’t matter.’ The way she manages to get inside Albert’s head, under Rosie’s skin, and even in her attempts to ‘flirt’ with Conrad are truly hilarious and it makes you want more of her character, even when she’s yodeling her arrival from off-stage!
He’s definitely sincere— Luke Depew as Conrad Birdie, that is! And boy oh boy does he have all the gals screaming and falling to the floor when he wallops his way through that number! Conrad Birdie, though he’s the title character, really only appears in three numbers but you better believe Depew is making the most of it. Channeling his inner 50’s rocker with the swiveling hips and all the finger points, Depew gets the whole of Sweet Apple, and by proxy the audience, bouncing along for “Sincere” and he puts a clean sound together for “One Last Kiss.” You get a real sense of his fun-loving and free-wheeling character during “A Lot of Livin’ To Do”, especially when he leads the kids to ‘freeze-frame’ when the adults are on the prowl! Depew is a load of fun as the title character and has great facial expressions to back up his more comic moments.
Lucas Baldwin will definitely have you putting on your happy face as the mama’s boy, Albert Peterson. He’s got a bright sound that works well for all of his numbers— especially “Put On a Happy Face” and “Baby, Talk to Me”— and his nervous disposition really makes that transitional moments when he finally finds the character’s backbone to stand up to Mama Mae Peterson that much more rewarding. There’s a humorous chemistry between Balwin’s Albert Peterson and Miranda Cockey’s Rose Alverez, particularly whenever he’s breaking down like a nervous wreck, and their duet together at the end of the show, “Rosie” is simply divine.
Putting her mark on the stage as the tenacious Rose Alvarez, Miranda Cockey really nails the role with vocal perfection, personality dominance, and an overall sense of how to develop this character into a dynamic, noteworthy performance. With soaring vocals she nails “Spanish Rose” and really succeeds at both her pacing and clean articulation during the patter-verses of “What Did I Ever See in Him?” You get a delightful sampling of her vocal capabilities, showcasing the versatility of her range during “An English Teacher” right at the top of the first act, and you get to watch Cockey bustle up against all sorts of challenges all throughout the performance, not the least of which is the somewhat dated (and surprisingly still a part of licensed versions of the script) “Shriner’s Ballet.” But she tackles the dance-only number with vim, vigor, and rigorous aplomb, showcasing confidence for miles in that scene. There’s a poised polish to the Rose Alverez that Miranda Cockey is delivering; you get the sense that she’s an actual adult on stage, which is a sparkling rarity amongst young performers, and you believe all of her heartache, frustration, and general fed-up attitude toward Albert. Her overall vocal dominance in any of her musical numbers, but especially in “An English Teacher” is radiantly resplendent, inviting you into the nuance and the emotion of the song.
If you wanna be going steady— going steady— going steady for good— with Children’s Playhouse of Maryland, you better get yourself pinned— to a pair of tickets to see Bye Bye Birdie this fall!
Running Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission
Bye Bye Birdie plays through October 6th 2024 with Children’s Playhouse of Maryland in the Lecture Hall of the Administration Building at the Community College of Baltimore County Essex Campus— 7201 Rossville Boulevard in Baltimore, MD. For tickets call the box office at (443) 840-2426 or purchase them online.
