AMS seventh-grader Garrett Franken said he was “super excited” for the show.
Fifth-grader Alyssa Ginther said she was looking forward to “Songs! Good songs and I’m missing school!”

Some students were less certain about what to expect.  Cooper McDermott said, “I don’t know what I’m looking forward to.”

Sixth-grader Gratt Reed, who performed in Honor choir with AMS this year, said he anticipated “a lot of singing and dancing.”  Reed said he will try out for musical roles when he gets to high school.

The show opens with Albert Peterson (played by Preston Hoye) and Rose Alvarez (Nora Walker) discussing—then singing about—their struggles to move their relationship towards marriage.  Hoye’s facial expressions are convincing as he makes excuses for delaying commitment. His voice is confident and strong, combining with effective costuming and makeup to give this sophomore the maturity for his role.

From Walker’s first appearance on stage, the audience is at ease with her control of her role. Her sassy responses and quick wit let us know that we are in for a delightful show.  When the two leads break into song for “Mr. Albert Peterson,” we are washed in the quality of two All-State vocalists.

The first chorus piece of the show is “Telephone Hour,” a humorous exchange among high-school students sharing gossip about “going steady.” Freshman Ben Parker gets big laughs in his role as awkward teen Harvey Johnson

The set for the “Telephone Hour” is built from rectangles of plywood painted colorfully to represent the different houses that the teens are calling from.  The set was teacher Matt Smith’s idea that he based off shows he had seen in the past.  The constructor of the set, teacher Derek Bair, said it took about three hours to complete.

The plot centers on Albert and Rose’s attempt to promote Elvis Presley-style rock star Conrad Birdie (Delsin Arnold) by arranging for him to give a fan (Kim Macafee, played by Savannah Hoye) a good-bye kiss before heading to the Army.  Arnold said he really enjoyed his part in the musical.  “This is the first musical I’ve ever been in and the part I got really fits me.”

There is a negative side to playing the role of a heart-throb, however.  The girls’ screaming “kills my ears,” said Arnold.  He said he tries to act pleased, but “I hate it.”

The show’s costuming reflects its late 1950’s setting. Preston Hoye, in the role of Albert, is dressed as a professional for his 33-year-old character.

Walker, playing Rose, is also dressed in professional attire for her early-30’s character. The teenage girls playing in “Bye Bye Birdie” wear white and black shoes with lacy bobbie socks, poodle skirts of all sizes and colors, and bows in their hair. The boys wear blue jeans rolled up about 2-3 inches, white t-shirts, and shirts tucked into their jeans.

The press in this show are dressed “rich”: girls in dresses and boys in suits. Delsin Arnold’s rock-star attire as Conrad Birdie has a charming wardrobe. He wears black sunglasses, a white V-neck t-shirt with a black leather jacket, black suit pants, and black shoes.

Props for the show further add to the 1950’s feel. To establish the time scene, props such as old telephones, rock and roll posters, old stove, and (stage) cigarettes were used. When asked where some of the props were bought, Bair said he knew the furniture was from Templeman’s.

The make-up done for the show is foundation, dark eye shadow (except for the teen girls), lipstick, eye liner, and light mascara. Some of the students volunteered to do the make-up.

With funding from the Atlantic Community Schools Foundation, teacher Matt Smith installed a new light system. The lights during the musical were on target. They always seemed to keep up on the main characters, even in the solos. Also, at times it looked like they had different shades of the lights to match the set. Bair’s sixth-period electronics class spent the last five days wiring the lights for the musical. They also helped direct the lights in the right location.

The vocal performances include well-known numbers. It’s always hard to overcome the nerves of the first song, but Nora Walker did it wonderfully. The second song was the first group song. The boys and girls have been practicing thoroughly and their complexion of voices mixed well.

Savannah Hoye was the next solo performer. Her voice is very unique and her ability to reach the high pitches is unreal. Her brother, Preston Hoye, was the next solo singer. He was the first of the boy singers and sang at the top of his game. Justin Somers and Savannah Hoye then shared a duet. Their different styles of singing blended beautifully for a great duo. Delsin Arnold was the last to sing during Thursday’s preview show. His voice is one of a kind and can’t be matched.

The musical was all pulled together with the music from in the pit. There were 13 students who played instruments to accompany the singers.  The instruments varied from flutes to pianos. The stage has a door to the pit in the floor open during the play.  The music was directed by Luke Johnson.