Review Highlights: BYE BYE BIRDIE - Hale Centre Theatre

Michala Montaño and the Cast
photo by Nick Woodward-Shaw

 

highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through July 1

"The classic musical comedy Bye Bye Birdie is a charming, fun and lively show that focuses on late 1950s America and the fascination with rock music that was sweeping the country at that time. Hale Centre Theatre's production is vibrant and a lively crowd pleaser, with fun choreography and actors who have keen comical abilities and rich singing voices....The Hale cast is wonderful. As Albert, Tyler Brignone exhibits an abundance of charm yet also a fun and frantic side whenever his mother is around. He also has good comic chops and a nice singing voice that delivers a winning rendition of the show's most famous song, "Put On a Happy Face." ...Michala Montaño is excellent as Rosie. Her sharp acting skills let us sees Rosie's determination ...Montaño's singing voice soars on Rosie's numerous songs, including an excellent "Spanish Rose," and her performance is simply exceptional throughout....a nostalgic and fun romp back to the simpler times of America in the late 1950s while also poking fun at parents, teenagers, and their rock and roll obsession with performers like Elvis Presley. Hale Centre Theatre's production has a fantastic cast, sharp comic moments, winning musical numbers, and a whole lot of heart."  - Gil Benbrook, TalkinBroadway.com (click here to read the complete review)

" colorful, high-energy production...both Hale Centre Theatre and Cambrian James have the formula right, nicely illustrated almost immediately in this production when the entire teenage population of Sweet Apple is on the phone, blocking all incoming calls from the rest of the country. ...during 'The Telephone Hour,' James has the young cast pull their phone booths on wheels around the stage, choreographed with a precision that not only stops everyone from bumping into each other but succeeds in allowing all four sides of the house to see what's going on throughout the crowd-pleasing scene without missing any of the action.  'Put On A Happy Face' became the standout, popular hit of the show. In Hale's production, Tyler Brignone's Albert grabs the piece with both hands...Brignone turns the scene into one of the most pleasant and thoroughly engaging sequences of the production.  Though there's an absence of backdrops and theatre flats for this theatre-in-the-round presentation, Hale's technical production values remain high...But it's Albert's girlfriend, Michala Montaño's Rosie you'll remember the most. From her opening song, 'An English Teacher,' sung with the kind of theatrically trained, lower register clarity that makes you immediately sit up and pay attention, beyond a doubt, this production of BYE BYE BIRDIE is Montaño's show."  - David Appleford, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)