Blowing Rock Stage Presents Hit Musical Bye Bye Birdie July 17 to August 2

Jim Ballard (center) plays the role of Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie. The Blowing Rock Stage Company will present the hit Broadway musical at the Hayes Center Friday, July 17, through Sunday, August 2.

It’s as American as baseball, apple pie and Elvis. Bye Bye Birdie, a Tony Award winner for Best Musical, made its Broadway debut in 1960 with Dick Van Dyke, Chita Rivera and Charles Nelson Reilly. The Blowing Rock Stage Company brings this toe-tapping, timeless musical comedy, praised by the New York Times for its “effervescent score,” to the Hayes Performing Arts Center in Blowing Rock beginning Friday, July 17, through Sunday, August 2.

Show times are 8:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays with additional 2:00 p.m. showings on July 25 and August 1; 2:00 p.m. on Sundays with an additional 7:00 p.m. showing July 19; 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays; and 2:00 and 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays.

The affectionate, family friendly tale follows rock ‘n roll teen heartthrob Conrad Birdie (a character widely thought in theatre lore to have been inspired by the King) and the antics surrounding a publicity stunt on The Ed Sullivan Show in which Conrad will kiss one lucky girl from Sweet Apple, Ohio, before being inducted into the Army. Bye Bye Birdie features such unforgettable, sunshine-bright songs as “Put on a Happy Face,” “How Lovely to Be a Woman” and “Rosie.”

 “Star power had never been more over the top than when Elvis Presley gyrated his hips for the first time,” says director Michael Wainstein.  “Rock and Roll had invaded the living rooms of America, and Bye Bye Birdie burst onto the Broadway scene, lampooning Elvis, his crazed fans and the new sounds in pop music.”

The 37-member cast of Bye Bye Birdie is proud to feature BRSC stalwarts Jim Ballard (Leading Ladies and Peter Pan, in which he played the dastardly Captain Hook) as singing sensation Conrad Birdie; Chris Kent (8-Track, The Immigrant and Keep on the Sunnyside) as Conrad’s agent Albert Peterson; and Steve Ware (Journey to Mitford, The Immigrant), as well as a troupe of local adults, children and BRSC 2009 interns.

“With each subsequent generation the sounds have changed, but star power continues to captivate America,” said Wainstein. “Rousing musical score, hilarious dialogue and great characters never go out of style, and Birdie is back, in all his pelvic glory, ready to enchant audiences once more.”

Chetola Resort & Spa, Mix 102.3 and WNC Magazine sponsor Bye Bye Birdie.

As a special Bye Bye Birdie opening night event, the Hayes Center will offer heavy hors d’oeuvres courtesy of Glidewell’s restaurant in the outside courtyard at the Hayes Center on Friday, July 17, from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. (In the event of rain, the reception will take place in the Ebert Rehearsal Hall on the second floor.) Cost is $10 per person (pay in advance or at the door). Additional dinner and show packages starting at $82 per couple are also available at Glidewell’s, Bistro Roca, Crippen’s and the Manor House at Chetola.

Tickets are $30 for adults and $14 for students. Special group rates are also available (10 person minimum). Season and Flex Passes can be purchased and used throughout the entire 2009 season. The Hayes Center is located at 152 Jamie Fort Road off Highway 321 in Blowing Rock. For tickets or more information, call 828-295-9627 or click to www.HayesCenter.org.

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