The daily Astorian., February 23, 2017, Page 28, Image 40

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Seaside High School presents ‘Bye Bye Birdie’
By KATHERINE LACAZE
FOR EO MEDIA GROUP
It’s the late 1950s. Rock
’n’ roll idol Conrad Birdie,
who has been drafted into
the U.S. Army à la Elvis
Presley, is preparing to leave
for the military by working
alongside his managers to
stage a public farewell kiss
with a randomly selected
all-American teenage girl.
What follows, according
to cast members of Seaside
High School’s production
of “Bye Bye Birdie,” is a
humorously dramatic, fun
frolic featuring high-energy
music, extensive chore-
ography and a plotline of
“everything going all wrong
at the same time and kind of
resolving,” senior Zeynep
Payzanoğlu said.
The play, written by
Michael Stewart with music
by Charles Strouse and
lyrics by Lee Adams, begins
in New York City. Rosie
Alvarez and Albert Peter-
son, Birdie’s managers at
Almelou Music Corp., con-
coct their scheme involving
the rock singer and choose
15-year-old Kim McAfee as
the lucky girl to receive his
goodbye kiss. The troupe,
accompanied by Albert’s
possessive mother, then
head to Kim’s hometown of
Sweet Apple, Ohio, and turn
it upside down with raucous
publicity, music and drama.
“You see a lot of emotions
all together — from Rosie,
from Kim, from Conrad,
from Albert,” said Payzanoğ-
lu, an exchange student from
Turkey who plays Rosie.
“Everybody’s sort of happy,
sad, angry, and they’re all
happening at the same time.
I think it is what makes this
play really fun to act.”
The cast of 17 has been
rehearsing for a couple
months under the director-
ship of English teacher Lee-
Ann Schmelzenbach, whose
first experience directing
was the high school’s 2016
musical “Urinetown.” The
production also includes a
technical crew of seven peo-
ple and a four-person band,
featuring musicians Bill
Siewart, Julie Smith, Max
Strozzi and Drew Weil.
According to cast
members, the show prom-
ises audiences a good time
with lots of spunk, come-
dy, intrigue and especially
memorable music. They
agreed “Honestly Sincere” is
one of the best songs in the
production.
Sophomore Majestik
De Luz, who plays one of
the Elvis-style heartthrob’s
many fangirls, added, “Our
dedication to Conrad Birdie
is pretty extreme, so I think
that’s probably a good
aspect of the play.” Another
comical aspect, according
to senior Adam Morse, who
plays Albert, is the love sto-
ry between his character and
Rosie — and how Albert’s
mother tries to get in the
way using guilt-tripping and
other manipulative tactics.
In general, the students
anticipate the audience will
enjoy themselves as much
as the cast has during the re-
hearsal process. De Luz said
one of her favorite aspects
of the overall experience
has been “growing as a cast
and really bonding with
each other, just backstage or
sitting out (in the cafeteria),
waiting for our next part.”
“We’ve really grown and
made a lot of solid friend-
ships,” she said.
The process has present-
‘BYE BYE
BIRDIE’
7 p.m. Friday and
Saturday, Feb. 24, 25,
March 3 and 4
7 p.m. Thursday,
March 2
Seaside High School
1901 N. Holladay
Drive, Seaside
503-738-5586
$8 General admission
$6 Honored citizens,
children under 12
$4 High school stu-
dents
ed multiple opportunities for
the students to develop as
performing artists, as well.
De Luz, an accomplished
singer, is trying her hand at
acting for the first time.
“In choir, we did a lot
of musical-type things, like
singing and dancing, but
acting was just a whole new
step that I learned,” she said.
Morse had to learn to
waltz for one of his numbers.
Payzanoğlu is strengthening
her public singing ability.
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PHOTO BY KATHERINE LACAZE
The cast for Seaside High School’s production of “Bye Bye
Birdie” is preparing for the show to open Feb. 24. Other perfor-
mances will be held Feb. 25 and March 2, 3 and 4.
PHOTO BY KATHERINE LACAZE
From left, senior Zeynep Payzanoğlu, sophomore Jack Staple-
ton and sophomore Chance Giguiere practice choreography
for a song from “Bye Bye Birdie” during a rehearsal Feb. 8.
As for sophomore Seth
Trevino, who plays Con-
rad Birdie, the challenge
is portraying a flirtatious
womanizer.
“It’s not what I am at all,”
he said.
The cast also had to be-
come comfortable with how
the show subtly reflects the
time period’s positive and
negative aspects, including
segregation, discrimination
and misogyny.
“It’s naturally in the
play,” which was written in
the 1950s, Payzanoğlu said.
“We realized it while we
were going through it.”
Adapting to complex
roles and the negative social
trends reflected in the play,
however, are part of what
makes acting an art form
requiring practice and dedi-
cation.
“Once you’re in cos-
tume, you’re really able to
engage your character,” De
Luz said.
And when everything
comes together, the auditori-
um goes quiet and the lights
turn on, Payzanoğlu added,
“It’s just magical for me.”
Seaside High School’s pro-
duction of “Bye Bye Birdie,”
presented in arrangement
with Tams-Whitmark Music
Library Production, will take
place Feb. 24 and 25 and
March 2, 3 and 4. Doors
open at 6:30 p.m., and
the show starts at 7 p.m.
General admission is $8 per
person. Honored citizens and
children 12 and younger are
admitted for $6 and high
school students for $4. For
more information, call the
school at 503-738-5586.