Jennifer Lopez Signed On To Executive Produce And Star In ‘Bye Bye Birdie Live!’ For NBC
NBC isn’t wasting any time to get things started on their next “Live!” project. Today, the peacock network announced that NBC would be partnering with Jennifer Lopez for Bye Bye Birdie Live! to be aired during the 2017 holiday season. The announcement was made a little over a month before the airing of this year’s production, Hairspray Live!
“To have a superstar like Jennifer Lopez starring in this classic show, which every high school in America has done, will ensure that our holiday musicals continue to be must-see events for the whole family,” said NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt. “It was her idea to take on this classic singing and dancing role made famous by the legendary Chita Rivera, and we are so happy to oblige! This show has delighted audiences for generations with classic songs that include ‘Put on a Happy Face’ and ‘A Lot of Livin’ to Do,’ and this will be an extravagant production built around this big star.”
Jennifer Lopez’s most recent film, The Boy Next Door, another vehicle where she both starred and produced, was the second-highest box office opening of her career. Another film, 1997’s Selena, earned Lopez a Golden Globe nomination and an ALMA Award. Of course, Lopez is known more for her singing rather than her acting. She has had 16 Top 10 hit songs and three No. 1 best-selling albums during her career. Lopez has won three AMA awards, three ASCAP Pop Music Awards, eight Billboard Latin Music Awards, and two VMAs.
The story of Bye Bye Birdie was inspired by the true life events that happened when Elvis Presley joined the Army in 1957. The musical is set in Sweet Apple, Ohio, during the rise of popularity of rock ‘n’ roll. The fictional Conrad Birdie has made plans to give one of the young female residents there “One Last Kiss” before he gets drafted into the Army. Of course, this disrupts the small town. The teens come down with “Birdie Fever,” the parents are in an uproar worried sick about their children’s morality, and songwriter Albert Peterson and his sweetheart Rosie are right in the middle of the chaos.
The 1960 stage version of Bye Bye Birdie was a Tony-Award-winning musical that starred Dick Van Dyke as Albert alongside Rivera who played Rosie. It was turned into a movie in 1963 that also starred Van Dyke, Janet Leigh, and Ann-Margret.
For next year’s production, Jennifer Lopez will play the role of Rosie. No word has been given on who will be joining her on stage. Harvey Fierstein will write the teleplay adaptation for Bye Bye Birdie. Fierstein, who stars in Hairspray Live! in December, wrote the teleplay for that show as well.
“Broadway musicals and films fueled my childhood and Bye Bye Birdie was one of my favorites,” said Lopez. “I’m proud to be a part of the NBC family with Shades of Blue and I thought it would be a blast to take on one of their big live musicals.”
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Bye Bye Birdie Live! marks NBC’s fifth signature live production. Robert Greenblatt has been the brains behind bringing these Broadway productions to the small screen during each holiday season. The show is preceded by live productions of The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz, and the upcoming Hairspray.
[Featured Image by Charles Sykes/AP Images]
