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With a menu customized to each show, and the addition of wine and dessert, a night out at the New Candlelight Theatre is like a ready-made date night. But with family-friendly productions, patrons can feel free to ing the whole gang.
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This month kicks off with the musical styling's of a 1960s throwback: Bye Bye Birdie. Flash back to a summer of fun and watch what transpires as rock and roll star Conrad Birdie receives a draft notice to join the Army. Birdie prepares for departure, but first promises a member of his fan club a televised kiss at the end of the summer, before he leaves.
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“I think it's a wonderful family-friendly show and it's a great show for a summer slot,” says director and choreographer Dann Dunn. “It's got a big cast, a lot of great musical numbers, and people of all ages in it.”
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Dunn, a New Jersey native now based out of the Philadelphia and New York area, says he jumped at the chance to be a part of this summer NCT production.
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“It's actually been a favorite show of mine for quite some time… and this summer is a busy time for me but I really wanted to make this work,” he says. “I think the music is great, the message of the show is wonderful, it was first produced on Broadway in 1960, yet the music and the message are completely relevant today.”
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Set in the days of bobby socks, flowing skirts, tight jeans and white t-shirts, the fun of the show's storyline, musical numbers, and dance routines is paralleled by its costuming.
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“It's fun, it's flashy, I imagine that this show is a dream for a costume designer,” says Dunn. But, he says, there's something for everyone. “I'm a dancer first and foremost, so for me the musical numbers are most fun, but if we have the same level of actors that are typically in NCT productions, I know the audience will be in for just as much of a treat.”
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See how the drama unfolds while you listen songs like “Kids,” “Put on A Happy Face,” and “I've Got A Lot of Livin' To Do.”
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Bye Bye Birdie will open Friday, July 13 at 6 p.m. and continue through August 25. Tickets are $33 for children and $56 for adults. For more information visit nctstage.org or call 302-475-2313.
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