“Bye, Bye Birdie” opens Thursday at Maricopa High School

Ashley Flynn stands upon an incomplete set singing and dancing when, suddenly, she stops.

“I forgot my line,” she said.

A voice from the back of the room fills in the lyrical gap, and Flynn steps back into character with a smile.

The voice was Maricopa High School Theater Arts Director Carrie Vargas who is producing and directing “Bye, Bye Birdie” – a musical around an Elvis Presley-like superstar named Conrad Birdie who gets drafted into the Army.

The rock ‘n’ roller’s agent, Albert Peterson, finds himself in a bind wondering what to do when his golden ticket is gone. His secretary and love interest, Rose Alverez, comes up with a publicity stunt as a last hurrah, and makes Peterson promise to quit the music business to become an English teacher after.

The plan is to have Conrad sing Peterson’s new song “One Last Kiss” on live television, and give one lucky girl from his fan club, Kim MacAfee played by 15-year-old Taylor Wells, a real ‘one last kiss’ on TV before going to war.

But things don’t go as planned.

The musical – starring 38 students from Maricopa High School and Maricopa Wells Middle School – is scheduled to open April 13 at the high school.

Although there have been many theatrical performances at the high school, Vargas said, this is their first musical.

“I picked something with relatively easy moves and vocals that would be fun for the kids,” said Vargas. Not to mention, “it is the cheapest musical to produce.”

Her dramatic theme, the name given to the director’s version of the production, is like the difference between Jim Hendrix’s rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” and Jose Feliciano’s – is “liberating oneself from the things that confine us.”

She said the troupe did pretty well with fund raising but not enough to go overboard on their first production. Proceeds from the event will go to buy sound and lighting equipment and help fund future productions.

Conrad Birdie — 16-year-old Jerry Allen — leads the cast through a song and dance number during rehersal Thursday.

Theater Arts Director Carrie Vargas coaches performers Ashley Flynn and Taylor Wells before rehersal Thursday.

Theater Arts Director Carrie Vargas shows off her work-in-progress set for the musical “Bye, Bye Birdie.” The set is also a part of a project Vargas is using for her master’s degree.

If you go:
What: Bye, Bye Birdie
When: April 13, 14, 19 & 20 at 7 p.m. & April 21 at 2 p.m.
Where: Maricopa High School, 45012 W. Honeycutt Ave.
Cost: $7 students, $9 adults

Cast:
Gabe Jenkins
Ashley Flynn
Elyshia Armstead
Brittany Rimer
Taylor Wells
Lindsey Jillson
Tony Mastrianni
Desiree Comparetto
Jerry Allen
Tyler Loomis
Ali Parisse
Daniel Argeaz
Jeff Ball
Jenny Michalski
Rick Jones
Aubrea Vandermolen
EmilioVasquez
Issis Alexander
Karen Welch
Brittany Papineau
Devon Garay
Josh Davis
Shelby Tuerr
Caitlin Snow
Carson Rose
Tiffany Munn
Kylie Johnson
Korissa Moser
Lori Lowe
Autumn Papineau
Miranda Ware
Caitlyn Alexander
Lexie Vargas
Julio Allen
Colton Wilder
Michael Mastrianni
David Vargas