Bye Bye Birdie is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.

Originally titled Let's Go Steady, the satire on American society is set in 1958. The name "Conrad Birdie" is a play on the name Conway Twitty, a popular singer at the time, and the character is based on Elvis Presley, whose draft into the Army shortly before the musical was written inspired a plot element. The original Broadway production was a Tony Award-winning success. The show also became a popular choice for high school and college productions.TIME magazine reported in its May 26, 2008 issue, p. 51, that this musical tied (with Oklahoma!) as the eighth most frequently produced musical by U.S. high schools in 2007. It spawned a 1981 sequel, Bring Back Birdie, starring original Broadway cast member Chita Rivera.

Productions

Produced by Edward Padula and directed and choreographed by Gower Champion, the Broadway production opened on April 14 1960 at the Martin Beck Theatre, transferring to the 54th Street Theatre and then the Shubert to complete its 607-performance run. The original cast included Dick Van Dyke, Chita Rivera, Paul Lynde, Dick Gautier, Susan Watson, Kay Medford and Charles Nelson Reilly. Replacements later in the run included Gene Rayburn as Albert and Gretchen Wyler as Rosie.