Broadway musical 'Bye, Bye Birdie

Friends of the Arts will host the Broadway musical comedy Bye Bye Birdie at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, in Becker Auditorium at Bonners Ferry High School.

Windwood Productions will present the show, which is the same performance that recently sold out at Northern Quest in Spokane, Wash.

“Our hope is that Bonners Ferry will become home to really great arts — local and professional, said Barbara Russell with Friends of the Arts. “The upcoming Bye Bye Birdie is really a must see and tickets are priced really low.”

The show will include an eight-piece orchestra made up of two keyboards, bass, percussion, trumpet, trombone, alto sax, clarinet, flute, piccolo and guitar.

“Bye, Bye Birdie” was the earliest musical about rock and roll and the effect of its idols on impressionable teenagers. It was the winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical.

When rock star and teenage heartthrob Conrad Birdie gets drafted, the nation's teenagers go haywire and Conrad's songwriter, Albert, faces unemployment. So Albert and his girlfriend organize a nationwide contest in which one lucky girl wins a farewell kiss from Conrad on the “Ed Sullivan Show.”

Kim McAfee turns out to be the lucky teenager and Conrad's whole entourge moves into her quiet Midwestern home — much to the chagrin of her ever-irritable father and her jealous boyfriend. The result is chaos and a series of romantic complications.

 The momentus hit tunes include “Put On A Happy Face,” “A Lot Of Livin' To Do,” “One Last Kiss" and the hilarious lament of parents with teenagers “What's The Matter With Kids Today?”

Tickets are $25 for adults and $12 for youth 18 and under and available at Mountain Mike’s at 6769 S. Main St., Bonners Ferry. There is a 20 percent discount for groups of 15 or more.

Through Gifts of the Arts, individuals or businesses can purchase tickets to donate back into the Gift of the Arts fund for residents who cannot afford tickets.

For information, call 267-3748.