Theater Review: “Bye Bye Birdie,” from the Roundabout Theatre Co.

This weekend, two productions I attended come to an end: the Pearl Theater Company’s Misalliance, by George Bernard Shaw, and the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of the 1960 Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical, Bye Bye Birdie.

You might have heard a lot—little, if any, of it complimentary—about the latter.

Now, on more than one occasion, I’ve written—in the contrarian spirit of this blog’s title—against critics who’ve piled on concerning certain plays. (See, for instance, my review of Hedda Gabler, starring Mary Louise Parker.)

But Birdie forces one onto barren, thankless terrain, the kind only Clarence Darrow could relish: defender of the damned. This revival doesn’t deserve such a stout defense.

So let’s get this over with quickly, shall we?

* This production, in keeping with the notion of truth in advertising, should have been titled Bad, Bad Birdie.

* Once again, the Roundabout has erred grievously in casting someone with whom they had a congenial experience before in roles for which they’re unsuited now--i.e., the two leads, both of whom appeared before in Cabaret for the company. (Prominent prior examples: Natasha Richardson in A Streetcar Named Desire and Alan Cumming in The Threepenny Opera.)

* One such actor, John Stamos, has the bad luck of assuming the role of skittish, mother-dominated publicist Albert Peterson, acted on Broadway a half-century ago by one of the most nimble, graceful musical comedy hands ever to step on a stage: Dick Van Dyke. Stamos can sing—a little—but can’t dance. If he can act, it’s in a production I’ve never seen. (His expression in the accompanying image captures pretty well what he must have been feeling throughout this misbegotten production: "What did I let myself in for?")

* Gina Gershon has it worse than Stamos. She can’t sing or dance (unlike the woman who created her part of Peterson’s secretary-eternal girlfriend Rose Alvarez, Chita Rivera), and she has no credibility at all playing a Latina.

* The always-terrific Bill Irwin (as Harry MacAfee) and Jayne Houdyshell (marvelous as Albert’s mother) are wasted in subsidiary roles.

* If you really like the songs by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams (including the standard “Put on a Happy Face”), then hunt down the original Broadway cast album.

* The after-show lecture “talk back” at the matinee I attended, featuring John Gilvey, biographer of the show’s original director, Gower Champion, was far more entertaining than anything preceding it.

* The song “The Telephone Hour” should have been given a title that more aptly matches the contents of the entire production: “Stinkeroo Central.”

* If you have a mad desire to go out and see the show this weekend, save your money. We’re in a recession, and we might as well combat waste and abuse in entertainment as much as in government and business.