Bye Bye Birdie: Original Broadway Cast Recording and Bye Bye Birdie: Original Soundtrack

               The other week I saw the movie Bye Bye Birdie in full for the very first time.  It was on TCM and afterwards host Ben Mankiewicz mentioned how different the music in the film was from the original stage production.  Some songs were completely omitted while others were shortened.  Since I have never seen the Bye Bye Birdie stage musical, I was intrigued to see how different the two scores truly were.  I borrowed both discs from the library and played them back to back.  Doing it this way, it is clear there are distinct differences between the two.  I will not say one is better than the other, but they certainly are different.               

                Before I get into a comparison of the two scores, it would probably be best to explain what Bye Bye Birdie is about.  The very short explanation is it’s about a ‘50s rock and roll star going off to the Army.  In truth, there’s a lot more to it than that.  Actually, the rock star, Conrad Birdie, is in some ways a very small part of the action (at least that’s the way it was in the movie).  Albert and Rosie are the ones who really lead things along.  They are in charge of the televised event where Conrad Birdie is going to give a girl a good-bye kiss before reporting to the Army.  A couple for a very long time, Albert and Rosie have much more on their minds than Conrad’s event.  Rosie wants to get married, but Albert has been dragging his feet because of his career and his mother.  Fed up, Rosie takes action to push Albert into making a decision about their future.  This only works so far, then Albert’s mother gets involved again.

                The other relationship that takes up much of the storyline is between Kim and Hugo.  Kim is the girl who has been chosen to be kissed by Conrad Birdie.  Recently “pinned” by boyfriend Hugo (remember this is the ‘50s), Kim does not understand why Hugo is so upset over the event.  It causes a rift between them, as well as between all the other girls and boys.  As a result, a war between the sexes is created, with Conrad Birdie in the middle, loving every minute of it.     

                The first difference I noticed between the Broadway and film scores is the songs.  There are some in the Broadway version that I did not hear in the film.  One that stuck out in particular was “English Teacher” which is about Albert’s other potential career path.  I didn’t hear anything even like it in the film.  Also I noticed verses that must have been cut.  A lot of times they were the ensemble parts, but sometimes they were actual bits of storytelling that had been omitted.  These missing pieces really helped alter the film, and I believe I know why.      

                I suspect part of the reasoning for this shortening and elimination of songs was to make the movie more squeaky clean.  In the movie there was little to zero mention of Conrad’s drinking problems or his running around with a married woman.  The problems between Albert and Rosie did not go as in depth either as I could hear was done on stage.  There were topics, such as Rosie’s ethnicity and the problems it caused with Albert’s mother, that were not brought up in the film.  In the stage version there was an entire song about it.  To keep that in the movie, though, I think that would have taken everything in a less cheery direction.

                Something else the movie did was really polish up the music.  The rough edges of performing live on stage were cleaned up.  It did not feel as though the singers were intentionally projecting as they would have to on stage.  Conrad Birdie’s songs especially felt different.  To listen to them on the movie soundtrack it felt like they were created in a studio.  They stood out on their own, while with the Broadway version these songs sounded like it went with everything else.

                 Another interesting thing was my reaction to both of these scores. With the movie soundtrack I could better sing along and dance. However, with the Broadway score, I could easily picture how the actors themselves might be moving. At certain points I could see what kind of gestures the actors might be doing or whether or not they were dancing. I enjoyed both of these different aspects, which is why I don’t have an opinion about which version is better. Both have their pluses and minuses, and to choose one over the other would be difficult. So, for now, I’m going to enjoy them both equally.