Fan Casting

Conrad Birdie (Jesse Pearson), a popular rock and roll star, receives an Army draft notice, devastating his teenage fans across the nation. Albert Peterson (Dick Van Dyke) is an unsuccessful songwriter, and music is the family business, although he has a doctorate in biochemistry. He schemes with his secretary and long-suffering girlfriend Rosie DeLeon (Janet Leigh) to have Conrad sing a song Albert will write. Rosie convinces Ed Sullivan to have Conrad perform Albert's song "One Last Kiss" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and then kiss a randomly chosen high school girl goodbye before going off to the Army. Once he achieves this success, Albert will feel free to marry Rosie, despite his widowed, meddlesome mother Mae's (Maureen Stapleton) long history of ensuring nothing will come between her and her beloved son. Sweet Apple, Ohio, is chosen as the location for Conrad's farewell performance. The random lucky girl chosen is Kim MacAfee (Ann-Margret), who is thrilled. Kim already has a high school sweetheart, Hugo Peabody (Bobby Rydell), who is not so thrilled. The teenagers of Sweet Apple, blissfully unaware of their town's impending fame, are spending the "Telephone Hour" catching up on the latest gossip: Kim and Hugo have just gotten pinned (indicating a serious commitment to each other) and Kim feels grown up. She sings "How Lovely to be a Woman". On the day Conrad arrives in town, the teenaged girls sing their anthem to him, "We Love You Conrad", but the boys despise him for their girls' love for him ("We Hate You Conrad!"). Sweet Apple becomes a very popular place, but some of the local adults are unhappy with the sudden celebrity, especially after Conrad's "Honestly Sincere" song coupled with his hip-thrusting moves causes every female, beginning with the mayor's wife, to faint. Under pressure from the town's notable citizens, Kim's father Harry MacAfee (Paul Lynde) is unwilling to allow his daughter to kiss Conrad on television, until Albert placates him by promising that his "whole family" will be on Sullivan's TV show ("Hymn for a Sunday Evening"). Albert reveals to Harry that he is actually a biochemist who has developed a miracle supplement for domestic animals that will make a hen lay 3 eggs a day; they test it on the family's pet tortoise, which speeds off out the door. Harry, a fertilizer salesman, sees a great future for himself in partnership with Albert marketing this pill. Hugo feels threatened by Conrad, but Kim reassures him that he is the "One Boy" for her. Rosie, meanwhile, feels like Albert does not appreciate her, so Albert persuades her to "Put on a Happy Face". Albert's mother Mae shows up, distressed to find Albert and Rosie together; Harry is also agitated about the way Conrad is taking over his house and the changes in Kim's behavior. Harry and Mae lament what is wrong with these "Kids" today. During rehearsal for the broadcast, an impatient Conrad kisses Kim, Hugo is hurt, and Kim and Hugo break up, with all three asserting that they have "A Lot of Livin' to Do". Albert is told that the Russian Ballet has switched to a different dance that needs extra time, therefore eliminating Conrad's song and farewell kiss to Kim. Albert's attempts to convince the Ballet's manager to shorten its performance fail, and defeated and dejected Albert decides to drown his sorrows at Maude's Madcap Café. He finds his mother Mae there, playing canasta with Mr. Maude, the cafe's owner and a widower himself. Rosie, fed up with Albert and his mother, also goes to the café for "a night to remember". After ordering three drinks (but only gulping down one), Rosie goes into another room where a Shriners convention is taking place. She starts dancing and flirting with the men ("Sultans' Ballet"), but when the scene gets too wild, Albert rescues her from the crazed Shriners. Next day, Rosie comes up with the solution to get back Conrad's spot on The Ed Sullivan Show that evening. She slips one of Albert's pills into the milk of the orchestra's conductor, which speeds up the ballet, amusing the audience, offending the Russians and placing Conrad back on the show to sing "One Last Kiss". However, just as Conrad is about to kiss Kim, Hugo runs onstage and knocks him out on the live telecast, which shocks Albert and Rosie. Kim and Hugo reunite. Albert is free to marry now ("Rosie") and his mother agrees, revealing that she is now married to Mr. Maude. All three couples live happily ever after. Kim, now wiser, bids Conrad a fond goodbye in "Bye Bye Birdie (Reprise)".