By: Ameena Stringer, Staff Writer
The Mills Drama Department presents the musical “Bye Bye Birdie.” Set to release in April of next year, the story follows a rock ‘n’ roll singer, Conrad Birdie, who gets drafted into the army. As a farewell gesture, his manager arranges for him to give “one last kiss” to a lucky fan on live television. The show is filled with catchy songs, energetic dance numbers, and comedic moments. It’s a classic musical that captures the spirit of the 1950s and is sure to entertain audiences of all ages.
This upcoming Spring play caused a lot of agitation since they were initially going to perform a different play. Still, the drama director and producer changed their minds due to some backlash and selected Bye Bye Birdie. When interviewing Mr. Hudelson, the production manager, he explained why they ultimately chose the musical. “Yes, I [chose the play]…Well, we had another musical in mind, but there was a little bit of backlash for that. We ended up going with something a little more tame: “Bye Bye Birdie.” My wife is really fond of it; she loves it and grew up with it. She has shown me the movie a couple of times. It’s a great show for kids.”
With some personal connection with this musical, Mr. Huddelson has high hopes for the cast: “We have a great tradition here, and we have done some amazing plays in the last few years. It’s exciting; there’s just a buzz on campus when we have our musicals. We achieved a lot with Matilda in an unconventional way.”
There are many students who are excited to be a member of the cast, “I’m excited to perform with my cast mates in my last show!” Lana Levison (12) auditioning for cast proclaims. “Meeting new people and learning new songs and dances is always fun as well.”
Although, as much as there is an outstanding and radiant finished output, there is always room for growth. “We need to work on our communication and chemistry on stage, which I think can be better once we’ve spent some time together.” “It’s always a time crunch trying to perfect all of the blocking and vocals for our spring performances. Also, without a lot of the seniors that graduated, it’s up to the current seniors to guide new members.”
Naturally, the purpose of the musical is to attract kids and their families, but it also serves a more significant objective for individuals in the musical. “Music is a great creative outlet for me, other than playing instruments, which lets me explore an interest in singing and dancing, too. My favorite part is the people I get to spend months rehearsing with, though, and we all get really close within that time.”
The entire cast plus production members are overflowing with exhilaration to start the production. School Musicals such as Matilda, Shakespeare In Love, and Athena are all examples of great builds of mutual support, collaboration, and teamwork school plays have on students. The students have strong feelings of accomplishment within themselves and others with such considerable achievements of these productions. Our musical plays are made to easily include art, speech, movement, theater, music, and singing into your curriculum, which is already bursting with subjects. Mr. Huddleson started off strong with every school play, stating, “It’s a standard, and people expect it and won’t be disappointed. I think we have the right people, and it’s just an amazing music program.”
