'Bye Bye Birdie' flies into Moses Lake

Performances tonight, Friday, Saturday

MOSES LAKE - Characters previously portrayed by Dick Van Dyke, Ann Margret and company, are being brought to Moses Lake High School.

The school's Masque and Gavel presents "Bye Bye Birdie" Thursday through Saturday.

The musical tells the story of rock star Conrad Birdie, who before going into the Army, is part of a television event in which he kisses one of his fans.

Isaac Jensen, 15, plays Birdie, a character he sees as having depth.

"He is really arrogant, but at the same time he has a nice side to him, so you know, sometimes he's charitable and he wants to please all his fans, but when it comes down to it, he'll always do what's better for him," Jensen said.

Performing in a musical presents

challenges, but is a lot of fun, according to the cast.

Jensen said Birdie doesn't have a lot of lines, but has big musical numbers, so it's important to bring the character out during the songs.

"Whenever he's singing you just puff up your chest and be really big and take up the stage, because that's how he is," Jensen said.

Some performers have more than one role and some characters are played by different actors, depending on which show.

"Singing's my life," said Megan Phelps, 15, who plays Kim MacAfee Friday and Saturday evening. Kim is the lucky fan selected to kiss Birdie on TV.

Among the songs she sings are "How Lovely to be a Woman" and "What Did I Ever See in Him?"

"I'm excited because I get to sing this year. It's my first singing role in a musical," said Meredith Heinzmann, 16, who plays Suzie.

When a small group is singing onstage, other cast members provide choral support offstage, said Amber Reynolds, 17, who plays Mrs. MacAfee, who she describes as a quintessential housewife.

Besides singing, actors bring their dance moves to the show.

Spencer Plate, 15, plays Hugo Peabody but said he has a great time with his other role, the mayor.

"There's a dance that you do that's a lot of fun and you're just always trying to be formal, but nobody really cares about your speeches, everyone's just saying 'get on with it,'" he said.

Director Don Hendrixson said "Bye Bye Birdie" is challenging because there are many different elements.

"Bringing everything together. That's probably the big thing. When you do a musical, you work on different parts, you work on the choral parts, the choreography," he said.

This is on top of everything involved with a non-musical, such as lines and the set.

"With a musical, there's so much more," he said.

Tickets for "Bye Bye Birdie" cost $5 with an ASB card, for children under 12 and for a matinee. The adult price is $6, and all are available at the door.

Performances are tonight at 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Moses Lake High School is located at 803 E. Sharon. For more information contact 509-766-2666.