Sami Grimes
Entertainment Writer

Thereís a frightening feeling that overcomes a reporter when they experience what I did when I went to review Masquers Theatre Companyís production of ìBye Bye Birdie.î

After the play had finished, I sprinted out to my car, clutching my notes in an almost Animal Kingdom-like protective fashion as the rain pelted down upon the parking lot of Forest Lake Area Senior High. I managed to survive the drive home, finally finding myself in the safe confines of my living room.

You see, Iíve formed this habit to go through my notes immediately and type them all out.

Iíve noticed it helps to keep the event fresh in my mind so I can write about it in detail. However, that night I had a little problem.

My notes had been destroyed, and two extenuating factors had lead to their demise. One of these factors being the rain that blended the ink together to create ink blots resembling my failure as a journalist. The second being an adorable little girl who used my notebook as an output of her imaginative mind.

For now, what lay scattered in front of me on my desk were pages of doodles and ink blots, with a few beautiful unscathed notes on ìBye Bye Birdie,î enough to hopefully salvage the review I had to write.

But there was some good news. As I began to write about my experience at ìBye Bye Birdie,î I realized that the sad state of my notes would be no issue at all.

Why you ask? The performance I witnessed was so lively, so vivid, and so attractive that I found this piece to be one of the easiest reviews Iíve been given to write.

First and foremost, the most noticeable delicacy to feast your eyes on is the stage.

Those listed on the playbill under set design - director Mike Nazzal, volunteer Ashley Tackes and set crew - should be very proud of the set they created. Itís vibrant, realistic, and was almost as fun to look at as the cast.

However, donít be fooled - the cast will definitely be what steals your attention. Set in the 1950s, ìBye Bye Birdieî was written for the stage as a piece of American satire.

Nazzal, who also served as director, made the decision not to modernize, and the performance was all the better for it. The costumes are adorable and blend perfectly with the era, and the music made you feel as if you were wearing your very own poodle dress hoping Conrad Birdie would ask you to the ìIce House.î

I suppose I should back up and inform the unaware as to what ìBye Bye Birdieî is all about.

The play centers around Conrad Birdie (Ryan Smith) and his quirky agent Albert Peterson (Wes McDonald) and Petersonís girlfriend/secretary Rosie Alvarez (Elizabeth Smith).

As Conrad is drafted into the U.S. Army, Albert and Rosie devise a plan to use his deployment as a marketing ploy - sending him to a small Midwestern town in Ohio to kiss his biggest fan alive on the Ed Sullivan show. Things go awry and the entire town gets star-struck, while biggest fan Kim MacAfee and her family deal with the chaos.

I will warn you now that Elizabeth Smithís character Rosie will blow you away.

For a moment, I felt as if I was sitting in a theater on Broadway listening to seasoned professional belt out the highs and lows of song after song. She is literally amazing, and her performance is enough for me to recommend ìBye Bye Birdieî to our entire community.

ìIím just excited to be in a scene or two with my husband!î said Smith, who is married in real-life to Conrad himself, Ryan Smith.

Other performances that are notable include Wes McDonaldís portrayal of anxiety-stricken Albert Peterson, as well as Breinn Habdas and her character Kim MacAfee.

I found myself laughing the hardest, however, watching Janice Murphy Roman as Mae Peterson and Dan Hazel, who played Kim MacAfeeís ìsteadyî date Hugo Peabody.

They were hilarious and had their characters down to a science. Hazel, who is almost a veteran with 20 major productions under his belt, will easily convince you that he is a pre-pubescent nerd who is more afraid of a girl than he is a math test. And Roman, who sounds like she is straight off a train from Jersey, deserves a great amount of praise for her stage performance.

Aside from the characters, you will be drawn into the choreography.

Granted, there were a few moments of distraction and an off-step or two in the back, but I barely noticed it with the magic that was happening in the forefront.

Itís really impressive and will leave you with this sudden craving (as I experienced) to replay the entire dance sequence so that you can focus on another part of the stage because there is so much going on.

The energy of the performance will definitely keep you going.

Ryan Smith, who portrayed Conrad Birdie, put it right with saying ìThere is a driving force in Bye Bye Birdie that carries the entire piece along.î

Heís correct, and is noticeably a driving force himself with his Elvis-like hip gyrations and charismatic sarcasm and wit.

Nazzal said ìit can get difficult working around the facts of modern life.

ìWith one member of the cast replaced due to illness, as well as working around summer vacations and busy schedules, itís been quite the undertaking,î he added.

In essence, Nazzal and Masquers Theatre should be proud of their production of ìBye Bye Birdie.î

Itís charming, sweet, and honest and rest assured, it is well worth your time to escape to the world that Masquers ófrom Page 6

has created for our community for this short time.

Performances are still available and begin at 7 p.m. at the Forest Lake Area High Schoolís auditorium.

A 2 p.m. matinee is being held on Saturday, July 22, as well as regular evening performances July 20 through 22 and July 27 through 29.

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Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
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