Opening night of Stirling Players’ Bye Bye Birdie delivered an entertaining evening of theatrical fun. The production is driven by a wonderful blend of fresh-faced, promising young talent and seasoned community theatre veterans whose vibrant energy carried the show, even while navigating some noticeable musical hurdles along the way.
A particularly beautiful highlight of the evening was a sentimental connection to the theatre’s own history: The club reached out to their original 1980s cast, bringing the original Ursula into the audience to be sweetly welcomed with flowers by her modern counterpart before the curtain rose. Serendipitously, I found myself sitting right next to her, and hearing her quietly humming along and laughing throughout the performance added a lovely, heartwarming layer to the night.
Upon entering the theatre, the audience is greeted with brightly painted wings surrounding a simple stage. Visually, the production relies on a bright, minimalist aesthetic utilising AV and background projections, which functions beautifully to establish the shifting locations and allows for clean, efficient scene transitions.
The choreography, although used sparingly, was incredibly dynamic and enthusiastic, and executed well, tying the story together effectively. The choreographer, Meesha Palman, successfully accommodated varying technical levels across the ensemble while playing beautifully to individual strengths, and the ensemble dance numbers provided excellent energy. ‘The Telephone Hour’ was particularly enjoyable to watch, as was the lovely routine between Harry and Doris McAfee, and the slapstick-driven movement scene when Rose invades the Shriners meeting. A particularly joyful highlight for me was the inclusion of some well-executed tap dancing in ‘Put on a Happy Face’; a style that has become tragically rare on community stages, providing a burst of classic theatrical energy that the featured dancers absolutely nailed.
This vibrant momentum carries over into the performances, anchored by a very strong principal cast. Samuel Yeo’s Albert brings a lovely, warm vocal tone to the stage, sharing a believable and charming chemistry with Lily Kennedy’s Rose. The chaos of the narrative finds its comedic heartbeat in the McAfee family (played by Alex McLennan, Sue McLennan, and Heath Avila), while their daughter Kim (Ivy Wilton) delivers a beautifully engaging performance. Taj Chaplin’s Conrad brings the perfect swaggering energy to the stage, aided by some sharp wardrobe choices, and Julie Holmshaw’s comedic timing had the audience absolutely eating up her scenes as Mae.
Musically, the cast deserves immense credit; they were entirely on top of their material, showing a level of vocal strength and absolute dedication that ultimately carried the evening. Going into the show fairly blind, without any knowledge of the book and only recognising a few numbers (‘Put On a Happy Face’ from one of my very first tap dances, and ‘Kids’ from an old episode of The Simpsons), the dialogue was very clear and the vocals were beautifully crisp with lovely diction, ensuring that every single word throughout the entire performance was easy to understand.
Unfortunately, there was a persistent disconnect with the live band. It was clear the musical elements hadn’t fully cemented, resulting in a few awkward, elongated pauses where the actors had to wait on stage for the musicians to find their place in the score. These musical challenges were further compounded by the logistical realities of the space; with the band positioned in a separate room, the actors were forced to frequently break focus to check stage left for musical cues, leading to some awkward stares off-stage while they waited. While it would be ideal to strategically place monitors behind the audience to keep the cast looking out, I imagine the venue’s seating makes this structural addition impossible, otherwise it would have already been implemented.The sound was mostly good throughout the night. The mix was off in a few sections, swallowing some of the ensemble’s harmonies, and the mics unfortunately dropped out a few times, though these elements will undoubtedly improve as the season progresses. The orchestration felt quite sparse at points, and the reeds especially suffered from some rough tuning early on, though the musicians did begin to find their collective rhythm as the night went on. In saying that, the musical director and musicians did an incredible job coming together in the exceptionally short timeframe they had, and the band is sure to find their stride and get better with each performance.
As a text, Bye Bye Birdie is an unapologetic relic of mid-century Americana, and although satirical, this production occasionally exposes how poorly parts of the script have aged. The score’s inclusion of ‘America the Beautiful’ as a simultaneous counter-melody in the ‘We Love You Conrad’ sections of ‘One Last Kiss’ felt a bit jarring given the current global political climate and created a bit of an awkward tonal disconnect for a contemporary audience. The script is scattered with dated references that were undoubtedly funny once, but they unfortunately miss the mark for a modern crowd, leaving younger generations (and likely the teenage cast itself) in the dark. This cultural disconnect also stumbles a bit in the handling of Rose. Through no fault of the performer—she was fantastic vocally and highly engaging—the writing of the character relies heavily on outdated tropes and without a performer of obvious Latina descent in the role, the musical number ‘Spanish Rose’ (delivered with an exaggerated, heightened accent) while I realise the intention of the song, crosses the line into an awkward caricature. For a modern staging, it raises valid creative questions about how we approach these dated pieces, and especially how we cast them.
Ultimately, while the production’s pacing was occasionally disrupted by its frantic musical preparation, it is carried by the resilience, sharp movement, and infectious joy of its cast. It is a light, fun night of theatrical escapism, and the sheer volume of emerging talent on that stage suggests a very bright future for the local performing arts scene.
Please note: the writer has previously worked with a number of members of this cast and production team. Image sourced from Stirling Players.
Bye Bye Birdie – Presented by Stirling Players
July 10 – 25 2026