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Brothers Tyler, Max and Bryce Casey showed off their argy

Check out Bieber from a bygone era



 

 
Young fans protest the disruption of Conrad Birdie&rsquo;s musical career in &lsquo;Bye Bye Birdie,&rsquo; set for this weekend at the Phoenix Performing Arts Centre in Duryea.
 

 

A whole lot of screaming and fainting has been going on in Duryea lately, and if you wonder why, just read the signs some of the girls are holding: &#8226; &ldquo;We love you, Conrad,&rdquo; the signs proclaim. &ldquo;Marry Me, Conrad.&rdquo;
Inspiring this devotion is one Conrad Birdie, an Elvis-like heartthrob who is about to be inducted into the United States military in the musical &ldquo;Bye-Bye Birdie.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He wears the black leather pants and the black leather jacket and has the little curl in his hair,&rdquo; said Lee LaChette, who has choreographed 1950s-style dance numbers for the show, which will be presented this weekend at the Phoenix Performing Arts Center.
Director Jennifer Stanton explained Birdie&rsquo;s popularity to her youngest cast members &ndash; ages 7 to 12 &ndash; by telling them to imagine a modern idol. &ldquo;Justin Bieber is going into the military and you&rsquo;re all in his fan club,&rdquo; she said.
In &ldquo;Bye Bye Birdie,&rdquo; the impending interruption of Birdie&rsquo;s musical career motivates countless young women to protest. It also sparks a publicity stunt: One of these many fans will be chosen to receive a farewell kiss from Birdie on the Ed Sullivan Show.
The prospect of the kiss complicates life in Kim McAfee&rsquo;s small town, where both her newly steady boyfriend and her father raise objections. Romantic problems also abound for a songwriter named Al and his long-suffering girlfriend, Rosie, whom he is afraid to marry for fear of upsetting his domineering mother.
&ldquo;Mama does not like Rosie,&rdquo; Stanton said. &ldquo;She makes that blatantly clear.&rdquo;
If the plot sounds familiar, you might have seen a 1963 movie version starring Ann-Margret as Kim, Dick Van Dyke as Al, Janet Leigh as Rosie and Maureen Stapleton as Al&rsquo;s mother.
&ldquo;We actually had (the Phoenix cast) watch the movie, and we also had them watching some clips of the Broadway revival,&rdquo; LaChette said.
That helped the youngsters embrace the ambience of another era, a time when appearing on the Ed Sullivan show was a very big deal, as was the teenage practice of talking for hours on telephones that had cords and that entire families shared.
Did the cast manage to find such antique props?
&ldquo;We had a couple in the theater,&rdquo; LaChette said, &ldquo;and we got some more from places like the Salvation Army.&rdquo;
The musical includes such upbeat songs such as &ldquo;Put on a Happy Face,&rdquo; &ldquo;Honestly Sincere&rdquo; and &ldquo;One Last Kiss&rdquo; as well as plenty of dancing in poodle skirts, saddle shoes and rolled-up jeans.
if you go


What: &lsquo;Bye Bye Birdie&rsquo;

Who: Phoenix Kids

Where: Phoenix Performing Arts Centre, 409 Main St., Duryea

When: 7 tonight and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $10

More info: 457-3589

‘birdie’ Is The Man