All tagged Lee Adams

Bye Bye Birdie Live! Why This Is an EXCELLENT Idea!

Bye Bye Birdie Live! Why This Is an EXCELLENT Idea!

Mark Robinson
Stage To Screen, Tube Tied

Bye Bye Birdie opened on Broadway in 1960, a time when musical theatre began to move in new, more daring, directions. Bye Bye Birdie proved to be an innovative musical that introduced the idea of rock & roll music to Broadway audiences. Yes, the Charles Strouse (music) / Lee Adams (lyrics) score is mostly traditional musical theatre, but it did include three songs that were a pastiche of Elvis Presley-like numbers. Michael Stewart’s book is one of the most finely-crafted original stories ever to be shaped for Broadway: colorful characters, a compelling situation, a touch of ridiculous farce, romance, and a happy-ever-after ending. People often underappreciate how solid the story is because it seems so simple and easy, but the cause/effect relationship between characters and their actions is extremely complicated and well-justified. Marry this complexity of storytelling to a tuneful, often witty score, and Bye Bye Birdie really needs to be acknowledged for the fine piece of musical theatre that it is

Under Appreciated - The Broadway Musical That Is Taken for Granted

Under Appreciated - The Broadway Musical That Is Taken for Granted

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

There are musicals that are so wonderfully constructed, and that have been done so often, that we take for granted their fine craftsmanship and vibrant musicality. These stalwarts of days gone by, produced by every high school, usually once every generation or so, are often dismissed. It's easy to poo-poo these titles because they have become staples of the stage. They serve their function by introducing young audiences to musical theatre. It is easy to forget that these musicals were once brand new, innovative, sometimes cutting edge, and big audience pleasers. I am talking about the Guys & Dolls, The Music Mans, and the South Pacifics of our Broadway musical heritage. Even among these titles, there is one musical that is seldom given its due for just how musically inspired and carefully constructed it is: Bye, Bye, Birdie.