Children's Playhouse of Maryland to Open 2013-14 Season with BYE BYE BIRDIE, Begin. 9/14

Children's Playhouse of MD (CPM), in residence at CCBC Essex, will open its 2013-2014 season with Bye Bye Birdie 1 p.m. on the weekends of Sept. 14-15, 21-22, 28-29 in the Administration Building Lecture Hall (formerly the J Building), CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Blvd. An additional 4 p.m. show Sept. 22nd will be sign language interpreted by students in the CCBC Interpreter Preparation program. Tickets are $10 each and can be ordered through the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-ARTS (2787) or online at http://www.ccbcmd.edu/performingarts/childrensplayhouse.html. Tickets will also be available at the door, space permitting. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended. The Administration Building (formerly the J Bldg.)Lecture Hall is a wheelchair-accessible facility. Those needing accommodations should request them at the time of ticket purchase. For more information, please call the Box Office, or the CPM Administrative Office at 443-840-2426. For directions, go to www.ccbcmd.edu.

A musical parody on the fan hysteria that occurred in 1957 when Elvis Presley was drafted into the U.S. Army, Bye Bye Birdie centers on the similar fate of fictional rock and roll star Conrad Birdie. Conrad's agent and songwriter, Albert, and his secretary/girlfriend, Rosie, plan a contest to choose a member of the Birdie fan club to send Conrad off with "One Last Kiss." The winner Iowan Kim Macafee and her whole family get to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show for the "last kiss." In addition to "One Last Kiss," Bye Bye Birdie includes "Put on a Happy Face," "What Did I Ever See In Him?" and "A Lot of Livin' To Do."

The original Broadway production had book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.

The CPM production features 43 student actors from Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Harford County. Matt Demetrides of Baltimore appears as Albert Peterson, with Erin Sullivan of Bel Air as Rosie Alvarez. Joey Bird of Phoenix is cast as Conrad Birdie and Karly Horn of Fork as Kim MacAfee. Featured players include: Tiffany Flaharty of Abingdon (Mae Peterson), Gino Cardoni of Middle River as Hugo Peabody, Allison Mudd of Parkville as Ursula Merkle,Sammy Jungwirth as Randolph Macafee and Valerie Stine as Mrs. Macafee, both of Nottingham, and Connor Moore of Baltimore as Mr. Macafee.

Other cast members are: Matthew Byrd of Arbutus, John Endres, Caroline Halligan, Emma Moore, Eva Hellerback, Johnathan O'Neal, Phillip Merrick,Sheridan Merrick, Rachel Miller, Zachary Miller, Claire Iverson of Baltimore, Kelsey Feeney and Nicole Arrison of Bel Air, Emily Wheeler and Nicole Mueller of Cockeysville, Victoria Caldwell of Joppatown, Charles Holt of Kingsville, Nicole Smith of Lutherville, Emily Ricci, Emma Hester, Julia Ryan andRhiannon Owen of Nottingham, Allison Naglieri of Parkville, Maddie Ulevich of Phoenix, Andrew Boeren and Angela Boeren of Rosedale, Izzy Gordon,Darby Brandenburg and Sophia Devito of Towson and Brendon Morrison, Dylan Morrison, Olivia Aubele and Wesley Brown of White Marsh.

Liz Boyer Hunnicutt is the director, Julie Parrish is the musical director, and Amanda Dickson is the choreographer for this production.