I directed
Bye Bye Birdie in 2013. I'm a middle school teacher, in the South Bronx. There were certain things that concerned me, mostly the scene in the Ice House. My school, and consequently my cast, is 100% Black and Latino. We performed the script as is, because I feel that I shouldn't do a show if I can't be true to the Author's intentions. Ethnicity is not the central theme of this show, to omit or minimize it denies a reality of those times, and ours. Interestingly, Rose was played by one of the African American students in my cast, which added another dimension to her arc.
As for the Shriner's dance, why omit it when you can reimagine it. We could not have this dance be overtly sexual because we were in middle school, so we made the dance a moment of empowerment for Rose. The audience doesn't have the stage directions; you can choreograph it so that it appeals to the modern social climate. My student was a bonafide triple threat. I couldn't imagine stealing this moment from her.
The show works as is, in it's entirety, when you stay true remain true to the literature.
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Hugh Fletcher
Performing Arts Coordinator
IS 229 Dr. Roland Patterson Middle School
Roosevelt NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-11-2018 04:19
From: Jodi Disario
Subject: Bye Bye Birdie
We're in rehearsals for "Bye Bye Birdie" right now, and I have come across an issue that I would like input on.
We are doing the revisions that were offered after the NBC movie version. This makes a lot of the overt racism from Mae and the stereotypes from "Spanish Rose" considerably toned down. Not perfect, but somewhat justifiable given the time period.
However, today I was discussing "Shriner's Ballet" with my student choreographer (who also happens to be playing Rosie). The more I thought about the song and the character arc, the more uncomfortable I got. When I reread the description of the scene, I realized that I would be offended by this if I was an audience member (Rosie starting out trying to "seduce" the men, but eventually changing her mind, but being pulled under the table with them).
Would you cut this scene, especially in the current political climate? I would contact Tams for permission to cut this and add a couple of lines to complete the character arc in another way. Or am I being oversensitive and should realize that this was also indicative of the time period of the show.