BYE BYE BIRDIE isn't exactly the kind of show that Encores! was created to do, but I'm glad they did. I first saw the show in 1961, about ten months after it opened, and unlike today, there was not one replacement for any of the eleven principals yet, and no understudies going on for a Wednesday matinee. I subsequently saw the First National Tour, the terrible first movie version, the television movie version and dozens of amateur productions over the year. I'm happy to report that the Encores! Version resorted back to the initial production (no terrible title song) and despite the dreaded credit "concert adaptation", the only thing missing was the "How To Kill A Man Ballet" and some very minor dialogue.
As you know, I am a major Karen Ziemba fan, and she was wonderful as Rose. True she isn't Spanish, but this role gave her the chance to show off all her talents and she sparkled. By the way, this role was initially created as Polish for Carol Haney. When Haney got sick, it was going to be played by Eydie Gorme who got pregnant. When Chita was cast the Polish jokes were changed to Spanish jokes and the song "Spanish Rose" --- a song which would never be written in today's politically correct climate --- was added.
Daniel Jenkins was fine as Albert, but missing that something extra that Karen brought to Rose. Jessica Grové was a perfect Kim, Bob Gaynor an ideal Conrad Birdie. Less impressive were Doris Roberts as Mae and Walter Bobbie as Harry MacAfee, but then having seen Kay Medford and Paul Lynde in those roles, I have never seen anyone match them.
This was fully staged and the set was based on the Robert Randolph "Telephone Hour" jungle gym. The orchestra was excellent, and the original orchestrations were used rather than the watered down ones that are included with the rental material for groups doing this show.
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The ads for ONCE UPON A MATTRESS gave no indication that this was a cut-down version done as an end-of-the-year class project for a drama school. Yet the whole production was only 75 minutes long, three songs were totally missing and most other songs were cut in half. However the original book was used instead of the awful rewritten version for the Broadway revisal, and it holds up very well, even in a less than ideal production.
To begin with, the head of this drama school probably picked this show so he could play Queen Aggravin in drag (her lines and songs were not abridged at all). However there is a difference between a male actress (Harvey Fierstein, Charles Busch) and a bad drag queen, and her makeup inspired by Divine in "Pink Flamingos" didn't help. To compensate for a male Queen, King Sextimus was played by a woman. And because this school has students of all ages, third grade girls played the Minstrel and the Jester. Now there are hundreds (if not thousands) of talented children in New York. These two are not among them.
A couple of non-students were brought in, and I am happy to say that Kristin Maloney was a wonderful Winifred, even though her songs were all shortened. Dauntless was played by a very good comic actor who could not sing at all. He was the school's Assistant Acting Director (and reading between the lines in the program notes, probably Queen Aggravain's life partner). In fact none of the singing leads could sing, although the chorus could and all had that extra spark of stage presence that is so often missing.
What the hell - it was a cheap ticket and it was good hearing the original dialogue from the show, or what was left of it. And this production shows how well the material has aged. It's a shame that the revisal has made a future major production very unlikely.