Okay don’t be scared - we know how this works.
StarStruck is putting on another production and no one can do it quite the same. I am not sure what Bye-Bye Birdie is all about, but I am picturing Jack Hannah on the Serengeti chasing something with talons, feathers and a beak. It sounds like an action-adventure comedy maybe….?
Maybe not...
I showed up for the first of five shows on a Thursday night at 7:00 pm thinking largely about the work I had done that day and the mountain of work I was going to have to do the next day. I also have to say that I was nervous about NOT loving this production. I had slothfully and partially partaken in watching a series of what appeared to be different high school and college productions of Bye-Bye Birdie and the story unfortunately just didn’t capture me. The versions we saw weren’t terrible, but it felt to me like something unfamiliar and something that didn’t really resonate with me. This also seemed to be a bit more of a comedy genre for the production team. I knew the crew at StarStruck could create a reaction when stories were based on hardship, triumph, love or emotion, but how would they do for this? This was something a bit more of a step away from what I was used to seeing from them.
When the lights went down I felt myself settle into my seat and take a deep breath. I felt better already. Suddenly little feet pattered down the side aisles as they approached the stage. Like much needed blood flowing back to the heart, the group of young girls seemed to breathe immediate liveliness into the dark theater and I could immediately hear the guests around me snicker and take notice. Their song to their beloved Conrad and the subsequent screams that only young girls can emit were like a breath of life into each person in the room. To begin, it was a nice wake up call.
Soon two of our main players open the scene in an office and we realize things are about to go ballistic. Rosie played by Victoria Bartolotta and Albert played by Daniel Rabinowitz were sensational choices for these leading characters. I had forgotten about the connection. I had forgotten about how good it feels when you see the faces fire up and feel the energy percolate into every corner of the room. I had forgotten about the intimacy of the setting and how even sitting somewhere in the middle or in the back row still made you feel like you were a part of the performance. I was eager to see what this would be like, and hopeful that I was going to be wowed.
I certainly recall on at least one moment of each evening when I was completely immersed in the faces and the songs and the dancing and the emotion of everything that had been put together; and I remember taking a deep breath, realizing where I was and saying to myself, “I deserve this.” Yes, weird I know, but I deserve this means that some time after the first pattering of feet down the side of the theater on Thursday night, until the final show and emotional bows taken on Sunday, the cast and performers of Bye-Bye Birdie had reminded me how to feel a little bit more. These kids – our kids – and the gifts and abilities of Peter and Jennifer and the crew and staff working behind the scenes to inspire each cast member to give their all to every performance, had shown me something remarkable enough to take me away from it all. The performance captured me enough, engaged me enough, brought to me enough elation and joy to obliterate any worries, dread or sour thoughts from the week prior or to the challenges that may lie ahead. It was almost like the cast and crew had transported me far enough away to peel back a layer and challenge me to be human again. It was a prompt to remember how to enjoy life and feel deeply again. It was wonderful and I was grateful.
As I settled into my seat for the Sunday night show the air was particularly charged. It was the last evening of the five day run of Bye-Bye Birdie and the cast seemed to feel it. If you have been lucky enough to see a performance at StarStruck or maybe a few, you have become familiar with the faces and the talents rather quickly. Some of the young stars have a history with StarStruck that goes back at least 11 years, meaning that StarStruck has molded and guided them into skilled technical artists ready for a number of opportunities that might await them. The 3:00 pm show on Sunday was to be the final performance for at least two of StarStruck’s finest, Victoria Bartolotta and Becca Suskauer. Both graced the stage showing exceptional mastery of their acting, singing and dancing abilities and beautifully showcasing their time and knowledge attained at StarStruck. It is clear that these young ladies are going places and rightfully belong on the stage or the big screen or wherever they may land. It was apparent also, that the impact they have made, the bonds they have formed with the cast members around them, and the examples they have set for the young performers that look up to them will last a lifetime. I hope they know that their impact on the lives they have touched, both on and off the stage, will stand long beyond their final performance. It is and has always been my hope that my youngest daughter will look up to leaders like them and learn to use her gifts to be a confident leader who is kind, benevolent, helpful and wise. I have little doubt that Peter and Jennifer, surrounded by their committed and capable staff, have played a major role in crafting the lives and the minds of the young performers that pass through their doors – there might not be any better gift that they could possibly give.
And so it was on this Sunday evening when I realized the impact the show – this one show – had made on me and those around me. Although I was not a huge fan of Bye-Bye Birdie only five days prior, I recognized how for the last three days I had been walking through the house singing the songs and reciting the lines. It had been delivered in such a way that it absorbed into my brain and made my personal home-world a better place to be. One day I caught myself singing my own variation of “You’ve Gotta Be Sincere” to my wife who probably would have rather heard it from Ryan himself. One day I broke into the “Kids” song in my living room because if you have kids at all there are at least a million applications for singing that one any day of the week. Still not a believer? Two days ago while strolling through a mall in Union City, New Jersey I caught myself singing (luckily to myself) that I was going to be “Mrs. Albert Peterson” from Ms. Bartolotta's rendition of “English Teacher.” Not a seed I might have chosen to plant but apparently one of the many seeds that would sprout and grow. The impact and effect that StarStruck’s performance had on me, delivered vibrantly and brilliantly, with a mountain of emotion and a jolt of energy, was epic and undeniable. I had been fortunate enough to take a piece of this performance of Bye-Bye Birdie with me – I believe the intention of all of this from the very beginning. If you missed StarStruck’s latest performance, don’t kick yourself - just make sure you don’t miss the next one.
The show ran a series of five performances and I truthfully proclaim that I had gone from ‘Ok -That was pretty good!’ to “OMG! I think this might be my new favorite!!” In a discussion with the mother of one of the cast members at intermission on Sunday afternoon we compared notes on how we had both become raving fans.
Once the final performance was over we watched as the cast took their final bows and then the audience, family and friends waited in the lounge for the performers to come out after the show. Finally they emerge and you get to see their faces just a few feet away. The performers appear smiling and tired but they also look content because they know they just gave us 210% of everything they had. No longer in costume, you see them in street clothes with remnants of make-up and bits of tape residue still on their cheek and then they meander back and forth and merge and absorb into the crowd and hug their families and greet their friends. You get to see them up close and you feel a surge of pride... these are our kids – I can’t believe everything I just saw came out of them. They sure seem like normal kids. They seem so humble, so grounded, so modest, but I’ve seen what they can do and it is beyond exceptional. They are more than just actors and actresses and singers and dancers and gifted students - they are leaders. Each one of them capable of more than they maybe ever thought they might be and you get a feeling that the staff at StarStruck has been paramount in giving them the courage and the guidance to believe that they are capable of anything.
