Freedom’s production of the musical comedy Bye Bye Birdie soared above even the most optimistic audience member’s expectations. With just the right amount of humor, song, and dance, though perhaps a tad too much screaming by crazed teenage fans, Bye Bye Birdie was an excellent and entertaining school production.

“It’s relatable not only to students but to the parents as well,” said Director and chorus teacher Corey Poole, “There are so many cool and different characters that come together to create a really good cast.” There were in fact a variety of solos and lead roles well distributed among Freedom’s talented aspiring musical theatre stars. Though there is an annual show in the fall, Little Night Music, as well as one in the spring, Bye Bye Birdie is the first musical production the school has put on in three years.

“I think it went fantastic! Every cast member added something truly special that made the show a success,” stated Jacqueline Jansen.

The musical follows Conrad Birdie, a fictional famous rock star drafted into the army, played by Josh Blanchard, Sophomore. It is set in the late ‘50s and is roughly based on Elvis Presley. His manager Albert Peterson (Anthony Capobianco) takes a note from his girlfriend and later fiancée, Rosie (Jacqueline Jansen) to do one last publicity stunt before being shipped off: singing on live television and giving one last kiss to a lucky girl from a small town. Kim MacAfee (Christina Pittarelli) is chosen, which her boyfriend, Hugo Peabody (Adam Draper) is not pleased about.

“We work on it every day in class and we’ve been staying afterschool every day this week until 9:30,” said Dakota Nalls, who played Mr. Harry MacAfee, Kim’s father.

The dedicated students had been preparing their solos, dance routines, and lines for weeks. Extensive preparation went into perfecting the musical comedy. Aptly named, it certainly kept the audience laughing and attentive.

“They’ve done a phenomenal job in the period of 12 weeks in which we put the show together,” stated Poole.