NBC is tackling another live musical, Bye Bye Birdie Live!, with Jennifer Lopez as lead female character Rosie.
Bye Bye Birdie Live! is NBC’s next live musical project, following their interesting takes on Peter Pan and Hairspray.
With a screenplay by Torch Song Trilogy‘s Harvey Fierstein, Bye Bye Birdie Live! will air on December 7, 2017.
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Jennifer Lopez will serve as executive producer on the project with her producing partners Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina, and she’ll also star as Rosie Alvarez.
NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt says in a statement:
“To have a superstar like Jennifer Lopez starring in this classic show, which every high school in America has done, will ensure that our holiday musicals continue to be must-see events for the whole family. It was her idea to take on this classic singing and dancing role made famous by the legendary Chita Rivera, and we are so happy to oblige! This show has delighted audiences for generations with classic songs that include “Put on a Happy Face” and “A Lot of Livin’ to Do,” and this will be an extravagant production built around this big star.”
The production is based on the 1960 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. The original musical starred Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson and Chita Rivera as Rosie, with the movie adaptation that followed three years later starring Van Dyke opposite Janet Leigh.
Here’s the synopsis for NBC’s Bye Bye Birdie Live!:
“Set at the height of rock ’n’ roll, Bye Bye Birdie takes us to Sweet Apple, Ohio, where hip-thrusting music heartthrob Conrad Birdie is scheduled to give a lucky Sweet Apple lady “One Last Kiss” before being drafted into the Army. Conrad’s rock ’n’ roll ways send the small town reeling, giving the teens Birdie fever, shocking the parents with moral indignation, and placing songwriter/agent Albert Peterson along with his savvy sweetheart, Rosie, right in the thick of things. The story was inspired by the incredible popularity of Elvis Presley and his induction into the Army in 1957.”
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