There is no need to look any further for live entertainment as students from The American School of Doha (ASD) will be performing the musical Bye Bye Birdie, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.
Bye Bye Birdie, the 1961 Tony Award winner for Best Musical is a candy-coated, singing extravaganza that will send you back to the 50’s faster than you could get there in Doc Holiday’s DeLorean.
The “birdie” the title refers to is Conrad Birdie, a rock star, not unlike Elvis Presley who, like Presley in real life, is drafted into the army. Birdie’s manager, Albert Peterson, and his “associate”, Rose Alvarez, decide to send him from the Big Apple to Sweet Apple, Ohio in order to plant a goodbye kiss on one lucky fan before he is sent off to war.
This year, The American School of Doha has found their Birdie in 8th Grader Luciano Albanese, who delivers his performance with a rye smile and a double helping of self-confidence.
This colourful show is chock full of infectious numbers such as “Put on a Happy Face”, deftly performed by Middle School newcomer Pacifico LoBianco (ASD grade 6 student), and “Kids” delivered with Paul Lynde-like snarkiness by Kian Moaledj (ASD grade 8 student), who is once again delighting crowds for the third year in a row.
The show’s Director, Jen Loría (MS Drama Teacher), takes us back to a new time period, this time to the 1950’s, where the McAffee living room has a feel taken straight out of Happy Days. Loría has succeeded in making 12 and 13 year-olds relate to a simpler time where mobile phones are replaced by rotary phones.
For information on show dates and times, contact the ASD Fine Arts Department at djude@asd.edu.qa.The Peninsula
