live musicals

Plaster on That Happy Face, Because Jennifer Lopez Is Bringing Bye Bye Birdie Live! to NBC

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Time to get honestly, sincerely pumped for the 2017 holiday season, because Jennifer Lopez is planning to spoil you rotten. The star is set to headline NBC’s next live musical pick, Bye Bye Birdie, as Rosie. Harvey Fierstein, who wrote the teleplay for and will star in this year’s Hairspray Live!, will pen the Bye Bye Birdie Live! adaptation, while Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the primary team behind NBC’s live dramatic output, are also onboard. The Elvis-inspired musical centers around Sweet Apple, Ohio, where the hip-thrusting Conrad Birdie pulls Rosie and songwriter Albert Peterson into his wild, wicked rock-and-roll ways. The idea to star in the role made famous by Chita Rivera was Lopez’s; of signing on, she says, “Broadway musicals and films fueled my childhood and ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ was one of my favorites.” Between this, Hairspray Live!, and the anticipated live staging of A Few Good Men, NBC sure does have a lot of live-ing to do.

Jennifer Lopez to Star in Bye Bye Birdie Live!