NBC's 'Bye Bye Birdie' Live Musical Gets a Major Change!
Bye Bye Birdie is NBC’s next live musical with Jennifer Lopez attached to star in the role of Rosie.
However, Harvey Fierstein, who is adapting the script for the live show, is changing up the plot a bit to make things less “sexist and old-fashioned.”
In the original 1960s musical, Albert (a songwriter) and Rosie (his secretary, played by JLo) stage a publicity stunt for famous singer Conrad Birdie before he’s drafted to the army.
“I want to be true to the time it takes place but at the same time, having Rosie be Albert’s secretary whom he’s having an affair with is a little sexist and old-fashioned. I didn’t see any reason for that,” Harvey told The Hollywood Reporter. “So I changed that. I made them both high school teachers…He’s the English teacher who writes a song, and she’s the music teacher who says, ‘I’ve got a great kid with a great voice.’”
“He ends up being Conrad Birdie, who’s supposed to only take one summer off to promote the record but turns into a star. It’s been eight years and Rosie just wants to go back to their real lives. It really makes a lot more sense that way,” he added.
There’s a song “An English Teacher” in the musical that will be altered a bit, and some of the scenes and songs will be re-ordered to accommodate to being on live television.
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