The Sheboygan Theatre Company will officially begin the Seventy-Fifth Season with the opening of “Bye, Bye Birdie” on Friday, September 26. A big Broadway, Rock and Roll Musical perfect for the whole family, it’s a great opener for a year of shows sponsored by The Stefanie H. Weill Charitable Fund and Acuity for the Arts.

“Bye, Bye Birdie” can definitely be called an “oldie, but a goodie,” coming as it does from the 50’s and 60’s, the greatest era of the American Musical. Featuring a book by Michael Stewart, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, the show is a warm-hearted send-up of the Elvis Presley story and great entertainment for the whole family. All about the 1950’s, it’s for everyone who lived through that era or wished they did.

Singing idol Conrad Birdie is going into the army, but before he does he’s giving “one last kiss” to a fan from the heartland of the country. The lucky girl is Kim MacAfee, from Sweet Apple, Ohio, but the hip-swiveling teen-star drives her father crazy and turns the small town upside down. Factor in Kim’s jealous boyfriend, the romantic squabbles between Birdie’s agent and his secretary and the shenanigans of the agent’s smothering mother and you have a fun-filled, frantic, fractured, farcical feature story about the fabulous fifties.

Filled with song, dance, comedy and colorful characters, “Bye, Bye Birdie” is one of the most energetic, wild, scream-filled musicals ever to play on Broadway. Given the subject matter, the show has great Rock and Roll tunes like “One Last Kiss,” “Honestly Sincere” and “A Lot of Livin’ to Do.” But it also features ballads such as “One Boy,” “Talk to Me” and “How Lovely to Be a Woman,” fun-filled numbers like “Telephone Hour,” “Kids,” “Healthy, Normal American Boy,” “Put on a Happy Face” and “Spanish Rose” and even a hymn to Ed Sullivan.

Sponsored by Wilson Mutual Insurance Company, "Bye, Bye Birdie" will open Friday, September 26, and be performed each evening through Saturday, October 4, with the exceptions of Sunday and Monday. There is also a matinee on Sunday, September 28. The production will be presented at the Leslie W. Johnson Theatre, 2820 Union Avenue, Sheboygan, with evening shows at 7:30 p.m. and the matinee at 2:00 p.m.

Admission is $20 for adults, $16 for seniors sixty and over and $10 for youngsters through high school and college students. Tickets are available at the Theatre Company office in the Community Recreation Department, 607 S. Water Street, or at the theatre box office 45 minutes before curtain of each performance. Season Tickets guaranteeing admission for all five shows are still available at $50 for adults and $25 for students. To learn more visit www.sheboygantheatercompany.com and then call 920/459-3779 to reserve tickets or for further information.