NBC’s next musical event will be Bye Bye Birdie Live! to air in 2017 and they’ve already starting the casting process, according to TVLine.
NBC announced that Jennifer Lopez will star in Bye Bye Birdie Live! as Rosie, who was played by Chita Rivera in the original Broadway run. The network also revealed that Harvey Fierstein will write the teleplay adaptation.
Bye Bye Birdie tells the story of pop-singer Conrad Birdie who is preparing to serve in the army in the 50s. He’s decided to host a contest to give one lucky fan a kiss before he ships out. While the show may be called Bye Bye Birdie, the real focus of the plot is the relationship between agent and songwriter Albert Peterson and Rosie, his secretary/girlfriend, who comes up with the idea for the contest.
Bye Bye Birdie first opened on Broadway in 1960 and was adapted into a film in 1963. The film stars Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh and Ann-Margret. Check out the original movie trailer below.
Are you excited for another live television musical event? Who would you cast as Conrad Birdie?
