Burrell preps for spring musical, discovers relevance of 'Bye Bye Birdie'

You might say “Bye Bye Birdie” is a bit like Beatlemania: a unique burst of energetic stagecraft designed to capture the essence of a musical phenomenon.

In this case, it’s a musical about rock ’n’ roll superstar Conrad Birdie, who is strongly influenced by Elvis Presley. The story is based on Elvis being drafted into the Army at the height of his popularity in 1957.

It’s hard to explain just how much of a sensation Elvis was when he burst onto the music scene in the mid-1950s. Rock ’n’ roll was new, and there had never been anyone quite like him. His powerful, evocative singing style and lyrics — coupled with dance moves and hip gyrations — earned him the nickname “Elvis the Pelvis” and above-the-waist camera shots when he danced on live network television.

Decades later, no one could blame today’s teenagers for wondering what the fuss was about. But a group of student actors at Burrell High School are trying to answer that question as they prepare to stage “Bye Bye Birdie” for their spring musical April 13-15 at the high school.

Alexa Callender, a 17-year-old senior from Lower Burrell who is playing Mae Peterson, the mother of Conrad’s manager, Albert, said she really didn’t know much about Elvis before getting a part in the play.

“No, besides knowing the (decade of the) ’50s loved him, and he wrote some songs I know of course and he passed away relatively young. I know for the time (he) was like vulgar, hip shaking ‘Oh my gosh,’ ” Callender said mockingly.

“That’s kind of tame from what people do now, kind of. It’s crazy to me that people back then were like ‘Holy crap!’ and girls actually fainted. I don’t hear about that happening anymore. I can’t really relate to having a celebrity crush that big, but I get it, man.”

Burrell dramatic arts teacher and director Martin Connolly still believes there’s plenty in “Bye Bye Birdie” for today’s teens to relate to — those performing the play and those in the audience.

“In my view it’s mostly about that rift between adults and teens and parents not understanding their kids when they reach their teenage years and sort of that culture war between adults and young people that doesn’t ever seem to go away,” Connolly said. “I’m in my 40s now, and I look at some of the kids that I’m teaching and I’m like, ‘Man, why are they dressed like that?’ That theme doesn’t ever really go away.”

Connolly said last year’s Elvis movie likely helped his group of young actors understand the Presley phenomenon a little better.

“A lot of them caught that and were like, ‘Oh, Elvis is cool.’ So, this being a parody of Elvis’ leaving for the Army, the timing helped them access it a little bit,” he said. “It’s funny because we found ourselves making comparisons like, ‘Oh it’s like Harry Styles or something.’ But it’s interesting because parents don’t outright reject celebrities the way that they did Elvis.”

Perhaps Connolly’s biggest challenge was finding the right actor to play Conrad Birdie. He decided to boldly go with Cole Miller, a 14-year-old freshman from Lower Burrell who is not as tall as Elvis but has just the right shock of black hair and the charisma to pull it off.

“I’m very excited to be the lead,” Miller said. “This really fits me. I’m so excited to perform it.”

Like Elvis, Miller plays the guitar but is more focused on nailing Presley’s signature singing and dancing, which he admits involves a lot of hip movement. His preparation for the part has included watching Elvis’ concert videos.

Miller said if there’s a message that “Bye Bye Birdie” is trying to convey, it’s that you have to live life to the fullest.

“You only live once, so go out there and make the best of it,” he said.