Bring Back Birdie- Page 2

[jv92]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 9:03am

In the opening sequence. Other than that, not so much...

Paul Lynde kind of walks away with the whole movie for me.

[egghumor]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 10:19am

BRING BACK BIRDIE must rank as one of the five all-time most atrocious musicals I've ever witnessed. I vaguely remember one production number featuring Maurice Hines that was particularly embarrassing -- in a show chock full of embarrassing moments.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 10:30am

Updated On: 7/31/12 at 10:30 AM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 10:32am

Updated On: 7/31/12 at 10:32 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 11:46am

For those few of us who stayed till the bitter (and I mean "bitter"!) end, Chita had an eleven o'clock number and then Chita and Donald did "Rosie" from the original Bye Bye Birdie:


"Well, I'm Not":

http://youtu.be/ACrTZ431VT0


"Rosie":

http://youtu.be/1rijfYuOPY0

But those two clips give you a false of idea of the sheer torture the preceding two hours had been.

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 5:52pm

Just curious...was Dick Van Dyke approached to star in the sequel?

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 8:09pm

I believe Adams, in one his brief classroom discussions of the show, said Van Dyke was asked, but since I don't have a published source and it was 30 years ago, I wouldn't consider my memory on the subject definitive.

I would be very surprised to learn that Van Dyke was NOT asked. He had just revived THE MUSIC MAN on Broadway two years before and though that revival wasn't a commercial success, he certainly still had the chops.

The 1980s seems to have been a time when Van Dyke's marriage was falling apart and, IIRC, he later spoke publicly about a problem with alcohol. Maybe he just wasn't up to a BIRDIE sequel or maybe he insisted on reading the script first.

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 8:43pm

^ Thanks so much for the response. I do remember reading about his struggles with alcohol.

Watching the clip of Rivera and O'Connor perform "Rosie," makes me think how touching it could have been with the two original stars. But from what those who saw it have stated, even Van Dyke's presence probably couldn't have saved this train wreck.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 9:00pm

Yeah, I'm afraid it was a lost cause. IIRC and though Lee Adams was too kind to say so himself, my memory is that reports claimed Donald O'Connor was something of a problem. But even the best performers can be difficult when they are stuck in a project that doesn't work. I've since worked at a theater in Palm Springs where O'Connor appeared and they had nothing but great things to say about him.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 10:38pm

The song "Middle Aged Blues" hits home for me these days. The lyrics are spot on.

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 8:13am

Any chance to see Chita perform, and still very much in her dancing heyday, should never be missed, and I didn't. And of course she could sing! And yeah, look at that cast, with Donald O'Connor and Maria Karnilova, but truly, nothing could help this show. We all kept thinking, "why didn't they just bring back "Birdie?" Sadly, the good Tommy Tune/Ann Reinking revival never made it here, and that Roundabout production...well, the less said the better.

Still waiting for the original BIRDIE to return to Broadway in its glory...

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 9:07am

Bye Bye Birdie is simply charming. I am astounded by audience reaction to this show. I directed this 2 years ago, and had more audience members tell me about trips down memory lane, either THEY'D been in it, or someone close to them was -- but it is totally nostalgic for all.

The kids (and I) had a really wonderful time doing this show, but for me, personally, its never been more than cute.

PS -- it was the first show I ever did. I was 8.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 6:27pm

I'm with you, dmama. Just "cute" at best and hardly a piece crying out for a sequel.

But jay is right that I should have gone just to see Chita Rivera. What can I say? I was a senior in college and preoccupied with trying to graduate.

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 9/6/17 at 12:14pm

Anyone going to see the Bring Back Birdie concert on November 1?

I'm not sure it will be much fun without a star. The cast album suggests it's less "so bad it's good" and more "so bad it's boring."

http://www.playbill.com/article/nyc-bring-back-birdie-concert-announces-its-albert-and-mae

[newintown]

Posted: 9/6/17 at 12:29pm

All due respect, but I can't imagine much enthusiasm for this exists among a general audience - a really poor score accompanied by piano, bass, and drums (at the most), and sung by relative unknowns? I hope they'll have enough friends and family to fill the place.

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 9/6/17 at 1:13pm

Bye Bye Birdie is a really cute and charming show, but why on this god forsaken earth did Joe Layton decided to create a sequel? The score is pretty trashy   all in all. Maybe- just maybe- with a good cast it won't be as disastrous. Walters and Ackerman might elevate the material, however small.

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 9/6/17 at 11:21pm

Didn't know that Act 1 was up.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 9/6/17 at 11:41pm

Itonlytakesajourney said: "Bye Bye Birdie is a really cute and charming show, but why on this god forsaken earth did Joe Layton decided to create a sequel? The score is pretty trashy all in all. Maybe- justmaybe- with a good cast it won't be as disastrous. Walters and Ackerman might elevate the material, however small."

The concept is junk, the material is junk, the performance was junk.  Chita Rivera received a Tony nomination in a very bad season...she certainly wasn't given any material to justify a Tony nomination.  One of, but not, the worst.

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 9/6/17 at 11:51pm

Jarethan said: "Itonlytakesajourney said: "Bye Bye Birdie is a really cute and charming show, but why on this god forsaken earth did Joe Layton decided to create a sequel? The score is pretty trashy all in all. Maybe- justmaybe- with a good cast it won't be as disastrous. Walters and Ackerman might elevate the material, however small."

The concept is junk, the material is junk, the performance was junk. Chita Rivera received a Tony nomination in a very bad season...she certainly wasn't given any material to justify a Tony nomination. One of, but not, the worst."

Looking back at that season, what happened? The only notable shows were pretty much just 42nd Street and Camelot. Clicking on the bootleg is painful in itself; I can't imagine how miserable it must've been in its 96 hour run. 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 9/7/17 at 1:33am

jv92 said: "Lee Adams is a very nice man, and a very intelligent craftsmen. What led him to agree to write BRING BACK BIRDIE the world will never know.

"

Money, I'm sure. And I don't mean that as a criticism. He had a family to feed.

Every show seems like a good idea at some point, usually in the beginning when each collaborator has an imaginary version in his or her head.

[markypoo]

Posted: 9/7/17 at 9:18am

The comments that have been posted here literally beg the question:

Just why is this concert even being done?

To rediscover some hidden gem?

I've been led to believe this show was nothing but sheer dreck.

[newintown]

Posted: 9/7/17 at 9:27am

You know, some folks just have an obsession with mega-flops - Carrie, Nick and Nora, Moose Murders, etc. Perhaps it's an identification with their outsider status.

[markypoo]

Posted: 9/7/17 at 9:32am

newintown:

You knocked it right out of the park with that comment.

Thanks so much.

 

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 9/7/17 at 11:04am

"Well, I'm Not", "There's A Brand New Beat In Heaven", "I Like What I Do", "Why Won't Grown Ups Grow Up?" -- all very cute, fun numbers. The Second Act Series presents these shows in a very abridged format. 70 minutes, a tiny bit of dialogue to string the songs together, and we focus on the score. Hope to see some of you there!

[Demitri2]

Posted: 9/7/17 at 11:43am

I doubt it could've been any worse than Adams and Strouse's show "A Broadway Musical" which for me was the bottom of the barrel. I saw the show in previews before its opening and closing night on Broadway. Never having seen "Bring Back Birdie", did anyone get to see both shows and if so which show would you rank lower? I actually like some of the songs in "Bring Back Birdie" and was always grateful there's a recording of the score. The only song I recall from "A Broadway Musical" was titled "Yenta Power" which emphasized the control Jewish matinee ladies had over the purchase of theatre tickets. When the first act curtain went down, three women sitting in the row behind me loudly complained at how offended they were with the song and abruptly left. To be honest, it was more entertaining than what I had just watched on stage.