In 1995, ABC presented a telemovie version of the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie produced by RHI Entertainment. It starred Seinfeld's Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams of Desperate Housewives. While this version remained mostly faithful to the original musical (Michael Stewart remains the only credited author of this version), several songs were added and re-arranged, and dialogue was slightly rewritten to smoothly facilitate the musical changes. The musical revolves around an Elvis Presley-type rocker who's about to join the Army. To mark the occasion, his manager's secretary arranges for him to kiss a random fan goodbye on The Ed Sullivan Show. Bye Bye Birdie earned four Tony awards in 1961, including Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for its original star, Dick Van Dyke. In addition to Alexander and Williams, ABC's production starred Tyne Daly, George Wendt, Chynna Phillips and Mark Kudisch.
Directed by Gene Saks
musical
remake
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
3.1 / 5
Where to Watch
Cast
Jason Alexander
Albert J. Peterson
Vanessa Williams
Rose Alvarez
Chynna Phillips
Kim MacAfee
Tyne Daly
Mae Peterson
Marc Kudisch
Conrad Birdie
George Wendt
Harry MacAfee
Sally Mayes
Doris MacAfee
Blair Slater
Randolph MacAfee
Vicki Lewis
Gloria Rasputin
Crew
Gene Saks
Director
Charles Strouse
Music
Ann Reinking
Choreographer
Charles Strouse
Songs
Popular Reviews
7 reviews
Niko
5.0★ · 10/24/25
Without Dick Van Dyke’s charisma, this version made it clear that Albert is the absolute worst.
Without Dick Van Dyke’s charisma, this version made it clear that Albert is the absolute worst.
Grim
6.7★ · 11/13/24
i’m convinced it’s not possible to make a bad version of this musical
i’m convinced it’s not possible to make a bad version of this musical
