LBHS says hello to “Bye-Bye Birdie”

The Long Beach High School Theater Department took audiences on a trip down memory lane to the days of poodle skirts and pompadours, when they presented a production of the Tony Award-winning "Bye-Bye Birdie"-a singing, dancing satire about a fictional rock-and-roll star named Conrad Birdie, whose fans go wild when they hear he is about to be drafted into the army.

The orchestra, conducted by Marino Bragino III, blended seamlessly with crisp vocals and lively choreography, as the actors, dancers and musicians breathed new life into numbers like "Put on a Happy Face", "Kids", and "Spanish Rose."

Matthew Pisciotta, in the role of Conrad Birdie, swaggered and crooned his way across the stage, leaving a swarm of swooning teens in his wake. After four years on the LBHS stage, Greg Sedlik, who also served as the show's student director, gave his farewell performance in the role of Conrad Birdie's anxious agent, Albert Peterson. His secretary and Latin love interest, Rosie Alvarez, was convincingly portrayed by Alexandra Pellett. Sara Ben-Moussa was close by as Albert's meddling mother Mae.

Russell Goetz made his debut with comic perfection, playing the role of Harry MacAfee, the exasperated head of the MacAfee household. Brittany Martin, Angela Ruis and Joseph Keiserman also presented memorable performances in the roles of his wife, Doris, daughter Kim, and son Randolph-the cause of most of his exasperation.

Ethan Edrich, Dalvin Goodridge, Victoria Lombardi, Gavin Enright, Sara Piazza, Saira Ramessar, Jessica Fernandez, Arianne Papa, Callan McDermott, Adam Goldberg, Toni Lee-Jones, Mary Deniston, Ambrose Plante and Michelle Asarch rounded out the cast.

In a touching display of community spirit, students sold bracelets for Haitian relief before and after performances, adding to the school district's ongoing fundraising efforts for the victims, which now total over $10,000.

In a longstanding school tradition, local senior citizens were invited to a free dress rehearsal performance on Tuesday afternoon, followed by the annual Senior-to-Senior Dinner, hosted by LBHS seniors.