Li 1

Jack Li
Mr. Byrne
AP English
April 9, 2016
Bye Bye Birdie Play Review Extra Credit
Albert Peterson, a songwriter who aspires to be an English teacher, works with his secretary
girlfriend Rose to have rock star Conrad Birdie sing the song One Last Kiss on the Ed Sullivan show,
and then kiss a teenage girl before he leaves for the military. The girl chosen is Kim, whose father
objects to the event until Albert woos him with thoughts of the whole family being on national
television. Tension between Rose and Albert's mom causes them to break up, but they get back together
when Albert sends his mom away. Kim gets back with Hugo, her steady, and Conrad leaves for the
military, with Albert marrying Rose at the end.
My favorite character was Mr. MacAffee, played by Ben Schwimmer. Ben portrayed the
stereotypical overprotective dad very well, and is by far the funniest character in the play. The best
scene in the play also involves Mr. MacAffee, when he was complaining about how the words
puberty and Mussolini were not to be uttered in his house, and how he was losing everyone's
respect. The hilariousness of this scene is only topped by the line I'm moving out of this house and
into a home.
All in all, the play was good, but not great. The characters and scenes were portrayed well, but
the songs were lackluster (with some exceptions). Although the actors were spectacular, the writing
was ordinary at best, and boring at worst. The play does not do the cast proper justice, as although the
cast did a great job, the play itself is flawed. However, I would recommend it to the average play
watching high school student.