Bye Bye Birdie, Hamburg Area High School’s 2023 musical was shown on November 17,18, and 19, was a big hit! The musical stars Conrad Birdie, a popular musician who was drafted into the military; Albert Peterson, an aspiring English teacher who wrote a song for Birdie; and Rose Alvarez, Albert’s faithful secretary. This story is set in the 1950s and goes through the personal struggles of Albert and Rose as well as the drama that came out of Kim McAfee winning the prize of kissing Conrad Birdie.

     I went to see Bye Bye Birdie on November 19 with no knowledge of the story. Seeing the show was important to me because I had friends in the musical whom I wanted to support. Considering I did not know anything about the musical, I enjoyed it for the most part. It was easy to understand and made me laugh a few times.

     Kirra Goetz, a junior at HAHS, played Kim McAfee in Bye Bye Birdie. When auditions were held last school year, Kirra auditioned for the role of Kim McAfee. After the cast list was revealed, Kirra found out she got the role of Debra Sue and was Kim McAfee’s understudy. Fortunately for Kirra, she got to play Kim because the person who was originally cast to play her could not. Kirra was extremely grateful and happy to play her. She said it was a big step up from her previous roles. She has never performed a solo in front of a large crowd or played a large part in the musical before. Because of this, she was nervous but very excited. 

      When Kirra was told the 2023 musical was going to Bye Bye Birdie she was a little disappointed at first, but after practicing and playing in Bye Bye Birdie she enjoyed it. One of Kirra’s favorite parts of the musical was when the audience laughed when she was performing or when a funny part of the musical came up. Kirra also enjoyed her dressing room because she got to decorate it how she liked and was able to put up lights and have a speaker.

     Kirra joined the musical freshman year and participated in her first show in sophomore year. She is forever grateful for making that place to join. Kirra did not have any extracurriculars before she joined the musical and joining has allowed her to have more things to do and be a part of something. Kirra said that being a part of the musical might be stressful and take up a lot of someone’s time, but in the end, it is very rewarding. Kirra says that participating in the musical is fun because she gets to meet new people, make new friends, and have experiences and memories that will last a lifetime.