Bye Bye Birdie

‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ is set to open this October on Broadway. John Stamos and Gina Gershon talks about their show.

Bye Bye Birdie is a stage musical with a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.

Originally titled Let’s Go Steady, the satire on American society is set in 1958. The story was inspired by the phenomenon of popular singer Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the army in 1958.

The rock star character’s name, “Conrad Birdie,” is word play on the name of Conway Twitty. Twitty is known as a country music star but also was one of Presley’s rock ‘n’ roll rivals in the late 1950s.

The original Broadway production was a Tony Award-winning success.

The success of the original production spawned a London production and several major revivals, a sequel, a 1963 film and a 1995 television production. The show also became a popular choice for high school and college productions.