Bring Back Birdie Blog Part One: Thoughts on Bring Back Birdie, Musical Sequels, and the Scathing Wit of the New York Times
Hello everybody!
Thank you for being back here again! I would like to apologize in advance for this post — most of my posts end up accidentally becoming research projects, but this is going to be a monster of a research project. Just be glad you’re doing the reading and not the writing on this one.
Today I’m here to talk about a record I bought nearly a year ago at the Drama Book Shop’s 40th St. location (RIP) as a reward for a good audition. I’m not sure how obscure this one ACTUALLY is (okay it’s not on Spotify and no one has uploaded the full thing to YouTube— passes my obscurity test.), but I’m obsessed with it and I’ve never actually listened to it, so let’s just say today is a big day for me.
Me telling all my friends about Bring Back Birdie, and all of my friends pretending to care about that.
I’m talking about “Bring Back Birdie,” fools.
What’s “Bring Back Birdie?” So glad you asked!
Bring Back Birdie is the ill-fated 1981 musical sequel to the 1960 smash hit musical Bye Bye Birdie. With music and lyrics by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, a book by Michael Stewart, and starring Chita Rivera and Dick Van Dyke, Bye Bye Birdie ran for over 600 performances on Broadway and won four Tony awards, including one for Van Dyke and Best Musical. Because it’s impossible to talk about a sequel without discussing the original material, here is the wikipedia link to Bye Bye Birdie’s plot, in case you need a refresher or if you are one of the few lucky people on this planet who have never been forced to be in the ensemble of this show.
In short, Bye Bye Birdie tells the story of rock star and teen idol Conrad Birdie, (not so subtly based on Elvis Presley in style and Conway Twitty in name) who is drafted into the army. Conrad’s songwriter, Albert Peterson, is stressed by the idea of losing his biggest client, and he plots with his secretary/girlfriend Rose Alvarez to come up with one last publicity stunt before Conrad is shipped off to war. They decide that Conrad will give one random member of his fan Club “One Last Kiss” on the Ed Sullivan show. As is to be expected, several things go awry, but in the end, Birdie is as popular as ever, and Albert and Rose are engaged. The End.
Or at least, so everyone thought.
In 1981, Strouse, Adams, and Stewart reunited to create a Bye Bye Birdie sequel. Why? I’m not sure. They were able to get Chita Rivera to reprise her role as Rose, and Dick Van Dyke was replaced with Donald O’Connor of Singin’ in the Rain fame (I really want to know if Van Dyke was simply busy, or if he knew this was destined to be a mess. I can’t imagine a universe where he wasn’t asked.) In concept, despite the fact that a musical sequel is an odd idea, this should have been great. The trio had managed to create a smash hit together twenty years ago and since then had all contributed their work to theatrical masterpieces (Strouse wrote the score for Annie, Strouse and Adams wrote music and lyrics for Applause, and Stewart wrote the book for huge hits like Carnival and Hello, Dolly). Somehow, they managed to make what sounds like a mess instead. Without having listened to the score yet, it’s still not difficult to see where some of the show’s shortcomings may have been. For one, the plot is WACKY.
And when I say the plot of this show is wacky, I mean that the first time that I read the synopsis on Wikipedia, I thought that someone had edited the page and added a bunch of nonsense — until I got my hands on a copy of the record and learned that this synopsis has been lifted from the back of the record verbatim. A satire of the rock-and-roll mania that was storming the country (and of Elvis particularly), Bye Bye Birdie was a lighthearted musical with *elements* of parody. Bring Back Birdie sounds like the most bizarre thing to ever be put on a stage. Flying past parody, it’s a nonsensical romp.
To get the full effect, you really have to read the entire synopsis (please do so here!), but if you don’t have time, I will do my best to summarize it below:
Twenty years after we last saw the gang from Bye Bye Birdie, the show opens on Albert and Rose, and we learn that Conrad has gone missing (dun dun dahhhh!) and that Albert has been offered $20,000 if he can find Conrad and convince him to perform on The Grammy Awards. Albert and Rose decide to go and find Conrad and eventually stumble on him across the country as the Mayor of a random town, where Albert’s mother (who Albert hasn’t seen since the events of Bye Bye Birdie) is serving as a bartender in a saloon. While they are away, Rose and Albert’s son and daughter run away to join a rock band and a cult, respectively. Rose and Albert get in a tiff and Albert decides to cheat on Rose with a woman named “Rose Two” (I am not joking), while Rose attempts to rescue their children. Other real events in this show include Conrad faking his own death to get out of appearing on TV, a plot where Conrad decides he actually wants to run for president and then UNdecides that at the end, and a weird plot where we find out that Albert’s mother used to be a famous dancer, and that she’s actually Spanish, making her hatred for Rose highly hypocritical. After all of that, in the end, Conrad finally performs on TV again and Rose and Albert reconcile. The End. Hopefully for good this time.
Apparently it was every bit as wacky as it sounds, because audiences weren’t having it, and it ran for 31 previews and only four regular performances. Part of what moves this show to truly legendary status in my eyes is the truly snarky, scathing review by the New York Times’ Frank Rich. I’ll attach it here, but if you just want some highlights:
“Although its creators have done plenty of fine work since their first success, you'd never guess it from this mess. ''Bring Back Birdie'' is not only far inferior to its predecessor, but it is also woefully tired - as if everyone involved had abandoned hope. Instead of doing ''Bring Back Birdie,'' these people should have brought back ''Bye Bye Birdie.'' Or maybe they should have left their and our fond memories in peace.”
“''Bring Back Birdie,'' which begins as an amiable shambles, devolves into total chaos. Mr. Stewart unleashes a slew of confused, satirically toothless subplots that involve everything from an extramarital affair to a Hare Krishna cult to a fraudulent funeral to the heretofore secret identity of Albert's domineering mother (Maria Karnilova). By the end, the show has run off in so many cryptic directions that you may think each member of the cast has been handed a different lousy script.”
I mean… yikes.
And while there is probably a high school production of Bye Bye Birdie currently playing within a 100 mile radius of anyone at all times, I’m not sure any of us will ever be blessed enough to sit through a live production of Bring Back Birdie (although I’m weirdly pleased to announce that you can purchase the rights here! A quick search revealed that there are 0 upcoming productions within a 100 mile radius from me. Shocker.). And while I am not condoning the viewing of bootlegs, let’s just say that the first act is floating around the internet and it isn’t very difficult to find.
As always, I will provide snarky little plot notes before songs, but please note that these are only to the best of my understanding, seeing as I have never had the honor and privilege of sitting through this ~theatrical experience~.
SIDE 1
1. Overture
It is an Overture.
Opens with a fairy tale type narration describing the plot of Bye Bye Birdie just in case you were one of the 12 people on earth who had managed to escape from being dragged to a random production starring someone’s 14-year-old niece.
“Once upon a time, so long ago that New York City hadn’t even been bankrupt once,
there lived a young man in the music business named Albert Peterson, who loved his secretary, Rosie.
His only client, a rock-and-roll idol known as Conrad Birdie, was being drafted into the Army, and Rosie wanted Albert to give up the music business, marry her, and become an English Teacher.
Alas, Albert’s mother, a frail and gentle old lady with many of the same endearing qualities as Snow White’s stepmother, opposed the match.
But love eventually triumphed, Conrad vanished, the mother was banished, Albert married his Rosie and became an English Teacher.
And they all lived happily ever after… ‘til now.”
Uhm. Ominous much? Actually, the tunes being sampled in this overture sound fun. And I probably shouldn’t be surprised — this is the same team that brought boppy numbers to Bye Bye Birdie like “Lot of Living to Do,” and “Put on a Happy Face.”
2. Twenty Happy Years
Rose and Albert reflect upon the last twenty years of their life as Rose convinces Albert that it’s not their job to find Conrad — all while they stand in their old office. That they broke into.
Rose is mad because apparently Albert thinks it’s his job to find the missing Conrad Birdie— and Rose is not amused. She’d rather continue living her comfortable life. It’s impossible not to draw parallels to Bye Bye Birdie’s opening number “An English Teacher,” where Rose essentially asks for the same— she wanted Albert to give up the unstable life of song writing so that she could be an English Teacher’s wife. Now she is one, and she wants it to stay that way. It includes great self-referencial lyrics like “we said ‘bye-bye Birdie’ way back when…”
3. Movin’ Out
Jenny Peterson tells everyone the news — She’s moving in with her boyfriend Gary. Every kid in Queens has thoughts about that. And they share them — in song.
A very, VERY 1980s base line begins, and then a girl calls out: “Hey Julie!” “Hey Jenny?” “You know what?” “No, what?” “I’m moving out!” “Moving out?!” Apparently this Jenny (who on closer inspection of that W A C K synopsis is Rose and Albert’s daughter) is moving in with her boyfriend because she’s a whopping 16 years old. FOR REFERENCE, the hot gossip in Bye Bye Birdie’s “The Telephone Hour” was that 16-year-old Kim and her boyfriend got pinned. It’s the 80’s y’all. The times are changing.
This is so corny, I’m laughing. Bye Bye Birdie is corny, but something about early 1960s corniness is sort of charming. 1980s corniness is C A M P Y. There’s a lot synthesizer right now.*
We’ll see how the rest of this album goes, but we’re two songs in, and this feels incredibly… formulaic. It’s as if the writers took Bye Bye Birdie’s first two songs, boiled them down to their essences (ex. “An English Teacher” is essentially about Rose’s desire to settle down, “The Telephone Hour” is essentially about teenagers getting the scoop) and then re-wrote them to fit the current plot and 1980s atmosphere. It makes the whole thing feel both comfortable and familiar, and just plain old stale. (I also feel this way about the recent film Mary Poppins Returns, but that’s another story for another day.)
If you are in the mood for a comparison, I’ve attached Bye Bye Birdie’s “The Telephone Hour” on the right, and a bit of “Movin’ Out” below. Unlike previous blogs, I’m going to be sparing with the audio files, as somebody certainly still owns rights to these guys.
*Okay, it was corny, but it also was stuck in my head for a whole week after this listen, so no one can accuse these tunes of not being hum-able.
4. Half of a Couple
Jenny fantasizes about moving in with her “old man,” Gary.
Okay, yup. This is Bring Back Birdie’s answer to Bye Bye Birdie’s “One Boy.” Down to the inclusion of a few other girls as back-up, although “One Boy” was tight harmonies verging on barbershop, sticky-sweet, and this is almost… reggae? And features lyrics like “Kiss till I die, yay! What a high!” and “He’s one of those passionate Leos, and I’m an Aries, how great! Won’t have to live with my nerd of a brother, believe me, I can’t wait.” At one point, 16-year-old Jenny refers to her boyfriend as her “old man,” which I HATE. The attitude here is interesting — Jenny sees moving in with Gary less as a pledge of love and more as a way to gain independence. How simultaneously immature and progressive of you, Jenny.
5. I Like What I Do
Rose convinces us — and probably herself — that she likes her life as it is, even as Albert and her children interrupt her song to nag her.
The whole song can be boiled down to the lyrics “I love my husband, I love my children, I even like them too. I like what I do.” This song includes a really interesting patter section that shows Chita Rivera at her best, as she tries to stop her daughter from moving in with her boyfriend, her son from joining a rock band, and her husband from quitting his job to find Conrad. This is a great showcase for her, but the material itself isn’t reeeally anything special. BUT I’m happy to report that I can’t come up with an equivalent from Bye Bye Birdie, so this gets major bonus points for breaking the mold.
Also, I get why Rose doesn’t want her 16-year-old moving in with her teenage boyfriend… but he’s not just any teenager, he’s a teenager who somehow bought a flat in SOHO. I don’t know. There are probably worse options.
6. Bring Back Birdie
Private-investigator (and apparently sometimes singer) Mtobe is convinced by Albert to sing this song he wrote to raise awareness (?) for the missing-but-hopefully-soon-to-be-found Conrad Birdie.
Also, if I am reading the synopsis correctly, the singing of this song takes place in a bus terminal? I hope the performance was televised, because I’m not sure how many bus-people care about Mtobe’s song about bringing back Conrad Birdie. Also he’s a private investigator AND a singer? Convenient. Rose then gets a mid-song reprise of “Twenty Happy Years” with dumb lyrics like “For an English Teacher, you’re a silly creature.” Then “Bring Back Birdie” and “Twenty Happy Years” are sung in counterpoint and it is… satisfying.
It’s a bit of a stretch but this does check many of the same boxes as “A Normal, American Boy” from Bye Bye Birdie — it’s at a similar point in the show, it takes place at a press event, it’s about Conrad, and it ends in counterpoint.
7. Baby, You Can Count on Me
Albert assures Rose that he’s not steering her wrong and that she can always lean on him.
Sort of odd characterization considering (at least, in my opinion) Bye Bye Birdie definitely paints Rose as the stronger of the two halves of the relationship. This song has a feel similar to Bye Bye Birdie’s “Put on a Happy Face,” and includes what sounds to be a long tap break, just like the former number. Despite the audiences being different (“Put on a Happy Face” is for two sad Birdie Fans, and “Baby, You Can Count on Me” is presumably for Rose), this is another formulaic choice.
8. A Man Worth Fightin’ For
Rose tells everyone in the saloon (?) that Albert is driving her crazy, but at the end of the day, he’s still worth it, while too many banjos and tambourines play.
Uh. Okay. So, this is not based on a song from Bye Bye Birdie. Because it is a country song. Like, dueling banjo country song. There is a long dance break, and knowing Ms. Rivera, I’m sure it was AMAZING. But also…thanks, I hate it.
This features really ~excellent~ lyrics like “He’s one malo señor, but he’s worth fighting for!”
9. You Can Never Go Back
Birdie explains why he left show business — and why he won’t be convinced to give it another shot.
“There’s only one person who burps like that, and that’s Conrad!” Albert proclaims. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” stutters the Mayor-who-isn’t-Conrad-which-is-to-say-he-for-sure-is-Conrad, “I figure people have made a kind of, uh, a kind of uh-” “Look at that! It’s the Birdie Swivel!” Albert shrieks, to which the-Birdie-not-Birdie counters “It’s the gas, it always goes right to my hip!” HAHA, WHAT?
Immediately, this guy’s Elvis impression is REALLY GOOD. Where Bye Bye Birdie’s Birdie hinted at Elvis in his performance, this Birdie is ALL IN. This song references Bye Bye Birdie’s “Honestly Sincere,” as the refrain includes the lyrics “I have Honestly Sincerely — had enough” It’s about how he’s over being a musician and would rather just eat french fries and run for senator. Sometimes same, Conrad.
Actually, this is VERY VERY catchy despite a few lyrics that are either clever or silly like “I thought it was an echo, but I heard myself say "‘Heck, no.’”
10. Back in Show Biz Again
Albert’s life is a mess, but who cares?!?!?! He’s “Back in Show Biz Again!!!!!!!!”
This song is… really dumb. Albert’s whole life has fallen apart. He convinced Conrad to sing on stage, but everyone hated it because it’s 1981 and old school rock is apparently not good anymore. Conrad has run away, so now he for sure won’t sing on TV, and Albert is being sued by NBC for a million dollars. He has to deal with his mother for the first time in 20 years. He just learned his children are not at the home of the relative they left him with and his pre-pubescent son has for SURE joined a rock band called “Filth” (inventive). For all of these reasons, his wife is really mad at him. But he’s…happy? Because he’s in show business?? It’s a wholesome sentiment, I guess. It also includes a super long tap break, but I guess when you have Cosmo from Singin’ in the Rain, YOU USE HIM.
“All the years I was gone — was I living back then? Well, the answer is no, ‘cause my biz wasn’t show! I’m back in show biz again!”
Maybe I need to revisit Bye Bye Birdie, but I feel like this sequel does Albert’s character kind of dirty. Was he really so unfeeling in the original? He has no regard for his wife’s wishes! He tells her to count on him and then just — forgets about that? Rose and Albert have a rocky relationship in Bye Bye Birdie, but it felt (last I saw it, anyway) like Albert is charmingly blinded by ambition, but eager to make up for his mistakes. This Albert is blinded — but by fame, and it isn’t super charming.
SIDE 2
1. Middle Age Blues
It’s Act Two, and Albert is feeling old.
Okay, so apparently 15 minutes of intermission happened, and now Albert is feeling sorry for himself. So much for being “Back in Show Biz” or whatever. Not sure if it makes sense as an act opener, but this is a funny song. And it’s probably extra funny if you’ve ever been middle aged, which — not to brag here — I have not.
2. Inner Peace
Rose has to rescue Jenny from the compound of Reverend Sun, a spooky cult.
Okay, so this one HURTS MY EARS. It’s a song sung by the cult that Jenny ran away to after being forbidden to live with her boyfriend (don’t ask me why she ran to a cult instead of just going through with the boyfriend plan after being abandoned by her parents). It includes a chant/song/thing to the tune of “Three Blind Mice,” talking about Inner Peace. And the teens who were no doubt recycled from “Movin’ Out,” are shrieking it. Rose has some interjections in this song, as apparently she has come to the cult to save her daughter — although that’s info from the synopsis. It’s not super evident in the song. What you also don’t know without the synopsis is that while Rose is saving her daughter from signing her life away to a cult, her husband is cheating on her with somebody named “Rose Two.” Would the sometimes bumbling but always good natured Albert Peterson of Bye Bye Birdie have done this to his Rosie, who is relatively unchanged between the two shows (except she puts up with a lot more sh*t in this one…)? I doubt it. They’ve done him D I R T Y.
I can honestly say that there is NOT a cult song in Bye Bye Birdie, so one originality point for ole Bring Back.
3. There’s a Brand New Beat in Heaven
To avoid being sued, everyone decides it’s best to just pretend Conrad has died. This is the song at his funeral. Conrad wanted to watch, so Rose Two locked him in a closet.
So apparently Mtobe reeeally fancies himself a singer, because he’s singing at Conrad’s funeral too. This song has fairly uninventive lyrics like “There’s a brand new beat in heaven now that Conrad Birdie’s there.” This is very generic gospel that is AGAIN being shrieked by those recycled “Movin’ Out” kids. No amount of Mtobe can save us from the blandness. Also, this song is very long. It’s funnier if you picture a slapstick routine of Birdie trying to escape a closet during it. I don’t think that happened, sadly, but I wish. When I stage my revival, that will be part of it.
4. Well, I’m Not
Rose finds out that her stupid Husband has been cheating on her with some woman named Rose Two while she was saving their children from certain ruin. She decides to sing and dance about this.
Rose finds out about the Rose Two, and obviously she feels a lot of feelings about that. Does she cry? Does she pout? OF COURSE NOT! She laughs! She sings an inspiring song! She dances an inspiring dance! And I… love this? You go Rose!! Men are trash!! Dream your dreams!!!
It’s worth noting that this song is thematically very similar to Bye Bye Birdie’s “What Did I Ever See in Him?,” a duet for Rose and Kim after their respective men screw them over. (In the former musical, Rose dumps Albert because his mother introduces him to a tap dancing blonde piece of work and he… gives her a job? I dunno, maybe Albert always was trash.) But I have to admit “Well, I’m Not” is the stronger number. Yeah. I said it. Maybe that’s because being dumped for someone so dumb they can’t even get their own name warrants the best material you’ve got. One point for Bring Back Birdie!!
This is also the only song that anyone has posted from the Album to YouTube, so at right is my Christmas gift to you.
5. When Will Grown Ups Grow Up?
The kids of Queens sing about their apparently childish parents.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is a rehash of Bye Bye Birdie’s “Kids.” Only it’s not as catchy and not as funny? “Kids” is upbeat and a classic “showtune,” if you will, complete with snarky asides to the audience from Kim’s father. “When Will Grown Ups Grow Up?” reminds me of something you’d hear at a piano bar and is vaguely reminiscent of something. Not quite as slow, but all I can think of is Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind.” And in concept, shouldn’t it be funnier?? I guess clueless adults are funnier than woke kids.
Also, this song is made even worse by the fact that it opens with I’m-12-but-I-was-in-a-rock-band Albert Jr. solemnly singing “Mom’s acting like a kid!” EX CUSE ME? Albert Jr., your mother is living her best life. Talk to your NAMESAKE! HE’S HOOKING UP WITH SOMEONE NAMED ROSE TWO!
I guess I’m here for actually funny lyrics like “I just got my first bra. Mom just threw hers away,” and not ones that depress me like “Since my folks got divorced. They get along all right.” “My parents just got married. Now all they do is fight.” I’ll stick to side-splitters like “How are we ever going to beat the Russians?!,” and “I didn’t know what puberty was until I was almost past it!!!” from “Kids,” thank you very much.
6. Young
After overhearing his kids criticize the behavior of adults (in song!) Albert realizes he’s been pretty stupid (you think?), so he dumps Rose Two, and begs Rose to take him back. She obliges (ugh, why?), and this makes Albert feel young again. He sings about that.
There’s not a ton to say about this number, simply because it is only about Albert feeling young. Not apologizing to his wife. Not learning a lesson. Not singing about their 20+ year relationship. Not admitting that they’re better together. Just saying things like:
“My pulse is jumping. My juice is flowing.
Could I be growing—
Young?
My eyes are shining. My ears are humming.
Am I becoming—
Young?”
I’m glad that Rose and Albert made up, simply because I don’t need that kind of stress in my life, but W O W Rose is a forgiving person. What a baby angel saint.
Also, this goes without saying, but there’s a lot of tap dancing in this. Of course there is.
7. I Love ‘Em All
After saying he *would* sing on TV, Conrad changes his mind again, because he’s going to run for President and thinks singing on TV isn’t presidential behavior. NBC gets mad at Albert for failing to secure Conrad and says that an old star had better sing on the Grammys, *or else.* Albert’s mom Mae shows up and reveals that she was once a famous star named Delores Zepol (I’m not kidding), and offers to sing on TV. Albert says okay. She sings this song.
This song sounds like it’s from… something else, which makes sense considering the fact that it’s supposed to be a stand-alone number from sixty years ago. It is about all the different kinds of men Mae/Delores loves. It also features back up singers, and I know this is a musical and we’re supposed to suspend our disbelief — but in the world of this show, this song is really happening with a few moments notice. These backup singers just… knew this song? From sixty years ago? That’s … lucky. The song itself is fine, albeit not very interesting. Not nearly as interesting as the mess of a plot point that comes along with it, anyway. Mae Peterson reveals that her actual name (I guess?) is Delores Zepol and that she was famous in the 1920s. And everyone remembers her, and that. Why you would change your first name after getting married and giving up the spotlight is beyond me, but here we are. “But Leah,” you might be saying, “Maybe Delores Zepol is her stage name!!” Yes, this would make sense, but later we learn that Rose figures out that Zepol is just Lopez backwards and dun dun duhhhhh, MAE/DELORES IS ACTUALLY SPANISH. UNBEKNOWNST TO EVERYONE. Which makes her anti-Rose attitude in all of Bye Bye Birdie problematic for more reasons than one. Now she’s not just racist, she’s hypocritical too.
But what is her real name? Delores Lopez? Mae Lopez? Delores Mae Lopez Zepol Peterson? I don’t know. I don’t care.
Anyway, enjoy this video of Chita Rivera performing “Spanish Rose” from Bye Bye Birdie on the Ed Sullivan Show shortly after the show opened on Broadway in 1960. It doesn’t exactly have anything to do with anything, (Although “Spanish Rose is the penultimate number in Bye Bye Birdie, just like “I Love ‘Em All” is the penultimate number in Bring Back Birdie) but I like it and it’s better than “I Love ‘Em All.”
8. Bring Back Birdie (Reprise)/Finale
Conrad changes his mind about singing on TV (again? Does anyone believe him?), and sings a song about… himself… on the Grammys. Okay.
To quote the synopsis, after making a big deal about not singing on the Grammys, forcing Albert to put his own mother on TV, Conrad evidently rushes on and agrees to sing after all, saying “Albert, I couldn't let you down, old buddy! It means giving up the Presidency, but if the country can take it, so can I!" Where was that revelation five minutes ago, Conrad? So he sings a reprise of that song Mtobe sang in the bus station, but apparently between searching for Conrad and cheating on his wife, Albert found time for a rewrite, because beyond a few of the same lyrics, this is a totally different song. He also gives it a super weird framing device:
“Howdy folks! I wasn’t planning to be here today, but in this morning’s mail
I got me a letter from a sweet little old lady in Lincoln, Nebraska. Today is her 103rd Birthday.
That sweet little old lady wrote me that before she is gathered into the bosom of Abraham
These are her own words, ladies and gentleman: “There is only one thing in this whole wide world I ask
Bring him back! Bring him back, oh baby. Bring back Birdie!
Bring back Birdie, that’s my prayer. It’s what I live for!
Hear my plea! Just for me! Bring back Birdie, please! Or I’ll die.
Respectfully yours, Mrs. Essie Henkle.”
I said, ah-Henkle.
Albert already wrote this song, Conrad! There is no such old lady! Also, or she’ll die??? It’s was one thing while the spritely Mtobe was using that as a metaphor. This is literally this fake old woman’s dying wish? Now this is a morbid song!
I would also like to point out that Conrad was so irrelevant (yesterday? A few weeks ago? How much time does this musical span?) that he was literally booed off the stage, but now… the people want him again? Convenient.*
Anyway, after we establish the song, Rose and Albert interject with a reprise of “Twenty Happy Years” (just like when Mtobe sang “Bring Back Birdie!”) Albert pledges to be done with “Show Biz” (We’ll see how THAT goes…) and Rose and Albert vow to try for Twenty More Happy Years, as the “We Love You Conrad” theme from Bye Bye Birdie plays. (It’s a shame this thing was a flop, because then we might have gotten “Bring Back Bring Back Birdie” in 2001! I would have watched it! Then we could be gearing up for “Bring Back Bring Back Bring Back Birdie” in 2021! 60 happy years!)
*Okay, I read an article that said the plot was that him “dying” made him relevant again. I’d buy that…if he actually died! He’s obviously not dead! They like him because he faked his own death? Ugh.
9. Rosie
The show finishes with Bye Bye Birdie’s moving closer. It is less moving, because Albert has been insufferable this time around.
After the “official” end of the show, this album treats us to Albert’s sweet and simple moving pledge of love to Rose from Bye Bye Birdie. It’s hard to miss a few lyric changes: Rose’s section of the song is rewritten to be for her character’s current situation — she sings about being done with show business and going bowling (?) instead of about heading to the altar. Although a tiny change, “since I found my Rosie” is changed to “since I’m back with Rosie.” It’s a weird choice because I’m guessing the intention is “Since we’re back on stage together,” but it’s hard not read it as “Now that I’m back here with you instead of with that poser, Rose Two,” which is less romantic. And although Rose and Albert are back on stage together, this was Rivera’s first time playing the role opposite O’Connor; it probably would have been more meta and moving if it were Dick Van Dyke singing it. More full circle, you know?
To your right, there is some Dick Van Dyke to ~cleanse your palate.~
The End.
Wow.
As previously stated, during my research about Bring Back Birdie, I discovered there was a bootleg of Act 1 only (why???) of the show on YouTube,** and if you think I could live with myself if I wrote a post about Bring Back Birdie without watching easily accessible existing footage… you’re wrong. That being said, this would be a GIANT blog post if I left it here so… here’s a first…this is going to be a two-parter.
CLICK HERE for my bootleggy thoughts, and a wrap-up of Bring Back Birdie as a whole!
See you all soon!
**I generally don’t condone the filming/viewing of bootlegs (support live theater, people), but I’ll make an exception for musicals that are nearly 40 years old and ran fewer than 5 performances.
