Two Well-Known Local Directors Stage 'Bye Bye Birdie'

Monday evening marked the first rehearsal for “Bye Bye Birdie” in the Dunn Performing Arts Center at Rye Country Day School.

Before the move, the cast and crew rehearsed at Crawford Park Mansion in Port Chester.

“It was a tough transition coming from Crawford Park,” said Cindy Moore, musical director for the show. “Sound bounces off the walls there, so it takes a bit of time to get accustomed to in here.”

Time is at a premium for the show’s directors and performers. After a week off from practice, there was not a minute to waste.

Julie Colangelo, the shows director, sat in the middle of the auditorium with a microphone in hand. Her voice filled the room as she shifted her focus instantaneously. One minute she was having a ping-pong conversation with her lighting director; next it was giving out line cues and then showing her performers how to sing a cappella. Colangelo was non-stop for the four-hour rehearsal.

Both Colangelo and Moore are accustomed to the “show must go on” nature of the stage. Aside from “Bye Bye Birdie,” the team is collaborating on a children’s theatre production of “Seussical Jr.” (debuting July 29) and casting for the production at the same time. Colangelo recently played Joanne in a production of “Company,” while Cindy was conducting and performing in the pit.

“Working with Julie is always great. Both she and her sister are great. Different approaches, but wonderful with the theatre,” Moore said, referring to Christine Colangelo, who has also directed several local plays.

Theatre runs in both Moore and Colangelo’s blood. Both Port Chester natives, Moore directed Colangelo as a child before working with her on numerous productions. Being involved in more than 40 shows combined, in roles ranging from performer to stage crew, each has special ties to the Port Chester Council of the Arts or PCCFA.

“There is never a no from them (PCCFA),” Colangelo said. “Cindy and I have been with them so long that it is another family to us.”

The camaraderie Colangelo refers to spreads through the cast of "Bye Bye Birdie" as well. Of the 29 cast members, most have worked with each other, Colangelo, and Moore before. Ranging from high school to college, everyone involved looks forward to being a part of the production outside of the hectic school year.

Two cast members, Mario Rodriquez and Amanda Mickatavage, both underclassmen at Westchester Community College (WCC), are veterans of Port Chester Community Theatre.

Mickatavage, who plays Rosie, is a sophomore at WCC studying acting and theatre. She is relishing the chance at starring in a leading role.

“I’m used to doing comic relief,” she said. “Now, instead of being over the top, I have to work on being more subtle in a leading a role.”

Rodriquez, who plays Albert Peterson in “Bye Bye Birdie,” is a junior at WCC studying psychology. He hopes to mesh psychology and visual art into a profession involving art therapy. Until then, he is happy to be involved in the play.

“I did my first show in eighth grade,” he said. “I have an affinity for acting and set design so I get to fulfill both those passions here. All in all, this summer has been a lot less hectic and a lot more laid back.”

Colangelo’s decision to do “Bye Bye Birdie” was not difficult. In addition to favoring a light-hearted script over a serious play for the summer, Colangelo saw the play recently on Broadway before its run ended in December.

“Robbie Hagar, a Port Chester native, was the understudy for Conrad Birdie,” Colangelo said. “We saw the show and talked to him about the part. It just seemed to fit.”

PCCFA neither has the endowment and investors of Broadway shows, nor the marketing, set design, or grandeur of famous stages in Manhattan, but Colangelo said all that is irrelevant. Community theatre strives for different reasons.

“In community theatre you have to learn how to recycle,” she said. “Heart and soul is the foundation of stage direction, not money and fame. True community theatre concentrates on teaching people how to perform.”

Colangelo and Moore are currently working eight-hour rehearsal days to put together two shows. Both say that the young performers are what make the work enjoyable.

“I have the best of the best cast,” Colangelo said. “I know they are going to be fantastic. We are not in the business of putting on bad productions.”

“Bye Bye Birdie,” presented by the Port Chester Council for the Arts, is being performed Friday, July 22, and Saturday, July 23. Both shows are at 8pm in the Dunn Performing Arts Center at Rye Country Day School.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for kids. Tickets can be reserved by calling (914)-939-3183 or emailing PortChesterCFA@gmail.com.

The Port Chester Council for the Arts is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Responsible for over 110 productions featuring over 2,000 adults and kids, PCCFA is continuing to make theatre available to everyone. For more information including details on up-coming shows such as “Seussical Jr,” visit www.portchestercfa.org

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