'Put On A Happy Face' With The BWW 'BIRDIE' Q&A: Send in YOUR Questions for Nolan Gerard Funk

'There Is Such A Lot Of Askin' To Do' with our new 'BWW BIRDIE' Q&A feature and the exciting thing for all you 'BYE BYE BIRDIE' fans is that...Conrad Birdie himself is taking your questions!

BroadwayWorld.com members are getting an exciting and exclusive opportunity to have their questions answered by Nolan Gerard Funk himself. 

Send your questions in to askbirdie@broadwayworld.com up until Tuesday, September 8 2009... We'll then be sitting down with the dynamic young star of the upcoming musical to have him answer YOUR questions! 

"Oh, Life's a ball
if only you know it
And it's all just waiting for you
You've got a lot of askin' to do!"

Once he answers your questions they will be posted right here on BroadwayWorld on September 10th! (estimated date). So put on your 'Happy Face' and let 'Conrad Birdie' know how much you care!

One of Hollywood's rising stars, Nolan Gerard Funk is best known to family audiences for his starring role as Nikko in the Columbia Records/Nickelodeon movie Spectacular! Nickelodeon premiered Spectacular! in February 2009 and over 14 million viewers watched the first week it aired in the United States. With the number one soundtrack and a top ten album on itunes, Funk also had his first song on the billboard charts, "Break My Heart". Receiving rave reviews for his performance, this showcased the former national gymnast as a unique triple threat. Spectacular! is yet to be released internationally. Funk has made numerous guest starring appearances on TV series including "The L Word", "Smallville", "Supernatural", "Lie to Me" and a recurring role on "Aliens in America". He most recently played an elitist prep school murderer on ABC's "Castle". His movie appearances include X2 and the upcoming films Triple Dog and Bereavement opposite Alexandra Daddario (Fox's Percy Jackson). A diverse performer, he played real life rapist Michael Magidson in Lifetime's The Gwen Araujo Story by Oscar nominated director Agnieszka Holland. He also played a tormented jock in Deadgirl, which screened at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008. Funk received a Leo Award nomination in 2007 for his work on the youth television series Renegadepress.com and had his first live performance this year with David Archuleta at New York City's Hard Rock Cafe. He is a spokesperson for Nickelodeon's "The Big Green Help" and has publicly supported the charity organization Champions Against Bullying.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) presents the first new Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie, after a 48 year absence, as the inaugural production of the new Henry Miller's Theatre (124 West 43rd Street) beginning Thursday, September 10th, 2009 with an official opening on Thursday, October 15th, 2009. This will be a limited engagement through January 10th, 2010.

Bye Bye Birdie will star John Stamos (Albert Peterson), Gina Gershon (Rose Alvarez) & Bill Irwin (Mr. Harry MacAfee) with Jayne Houdyshell (Mrs. Mae Peterson) & Dee Hoty (Mrs. MacAfee). The cast will also feature Matt Doyle (Hugo Peabody), Jake Evan Schwencke (Randolph MacAfee), Allie Trimm (Kim MacAfee) and Nolan Gerard Funk as "Conrad Birdie." Robert Longbottom will direct and choreograph Bye Bye Birdie with a book by Michael Stewart, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams.

Additional cast members include Catherine Blades, Deanna Cipolla, Paula Leggett Chase, Riley Costello, John Treacy Egan, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Todd Gearhart, Patty Goble, Suzanne Grodner, Robert Hager, Nina Hennessey, Natalie Hill, Julia Knitel, Jess Le Protto, David McDonald, JC Montgomery, Jillian Mueller, Paul Pilcz, Daniel Quadrino, Emma Rowley, Tim Shew, Kevin Shotwell, Allison Strong, Bethany Ann Tesarck, Jim Walton, Brynn Williams, Branch Woodman.

In Bye Bye Birdie, the exuberant rock n' roll musical comedy, it's 1960 and hip-swingin' teen idol superstar Conrad Birdie (Funk) has been drafted into the army. Birdie's manager Albert (Stamos) and his secretary Rosie (Gershon) have cooked up a plan to send him off with a swell new song and one last kiss from a lucky teenage fan... on "The Ed Sullivan Show"!

Bye Bye Birdie received the 1961 Tony Award® for Best Musical and features such beloved songs as "Put on A Happy Face," "Kids," "Spanish Rose," "The Telephone Hour" and "A Lot of Livin' To Do."

Tickets are available online at www.byebyebirdieonbroadway.com or by phone at (212)239-6200. Ticket prices range from $86.50 - $136.50. To become a Roundabout subscriber visit www.roundabouttheatre.org or call Roundabout Ticket Services (212)719-1300.

All tickets for the first preview performance on September 10th will be $10, made possible through the generous support of Bank of America. These tickets will only be available for purchase at the Henry Miller's Theatre box office, beginning at 12pm on Monday, August 10.

Bye Bye Birdie will play Tuesday through Saturday evening at 8:00PM with Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00PM.

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