Director, large cast puts new twist on old favorite

What does a director do when faced with a dilemma of producing a play that he happens to dislike? If you’re Cottonwood High School theater teacher Adam Wilkins, you switch things up a bit and take an old, dated classic and add some modern day charm, or as he says, “you strip away the Swiss cheese.”

Cottonwood High School theater students performed the musical Nov. 18, 19 and 21.

Cottonwood High School’s rendition of the Broadway classic, “Bye, Bye Birdie,” was still authentic in that the setting is still the 1950s. The characters and their struggles were still the same. The play centers around Conrad Birdie, a young Elvis-type singer who travels to a small Ohio town to perform a farewell show and kiss his biggest fan before being drafted. Wilkins just attempted to make it more relevant to today’s teens.

“Since I was a kid, I thought ‘Bye, Bye Birdie’ was corny,” Wilkins said. “I am hoping to change the ‘old gold jump suit attitude’ of the show and make it more real and funnier.”

According to cast members, Wilkins was successful. With 70 cast members and a 60 member orchestra to wrangle together, Wilkins created a show that delighted the people involved.

Maddie Howell, senior at Cottonwood High School, played Rose DeLeon. This was her ninth show at Cottonwood. She credited Wilkins with making productions so much fun, she would never miss out on one.

“Adam is an incredible director. He relates to us as a friend, not just an authority figure, which makes us all want to work that much harder for him,” Maddie said. “The music in the show is so much fun, and I get to dance for the first time, which it turns out, I like it.”

Cottonwood junior Jake Decker played Albert Peterson.

“I like playing Albert because he is a character with a lot of issues to deal with; his life is complicated and interesting to explore,” Jake said. “This version of ‘Bye, Bye Birdie’ is light-hearted with some funny and interesting scenes.

Wilkins says he refuses to accept the label of “just a high school production.” He and his cast members, as well as a schoolwide support system, take pride in their musicals.

“If you haven’t liked the dated version, you will be pleasantly surprised by our show,” Wilkins said.