Continuing NBC’s trend of putting a live musical production on television during the holiday season, The Hollywood Reporter details that their 2017 selection will be a production of “Bye Bye Birdie,” starring Jennifer Lopez.
Last year’s production of “The Wiz” was a big critical and ratings hit, while the previous two iterations, “Peter Pan” and “The Sound of Music,” received mixed reviews. The 2016 production is “Hairspray,” starring Kristin Chenoweth, Jennifer Hudson, and Harvey Fierstein, and will air December 7.
NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt made the announcement Thursday night during a Paley Center panel, saying Lopez came to the network with the idea.
“Broadway musicals and films fueled my childhood and ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ was one of my favorites. I’m proud to be a part of the NBC family and I thought it would be a blast to take on one of their big live musicals,” Lopez said in a statement.
Lopez will executive produce and star as Rosie, a role played by Chita Rivera in the 1960 Tony-winning Broadway run. The story, THR writes, is “set at the height of rock ’n’ roll [and] takes place in Sweet Apple, Ohio, where hip-thrusting music heartthrob Conrad Birdie is scheduled to give a lucky Sweet Apple lady ‘One Last Kiss’ before being drafted into the Army. Conrad’s rock ’n’ roll ways send the small town reeling, giving the teens Birdie fever, shocking the parents with moral indignation and placing songwriter-agent Albert Peterson along with his savvy sweetheart, Rosie, right in the thick of things. The story was inspired by Elvis Presley and his induction into the Army in 1957.”
“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,” added 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.”
Lopez currently stars on the network’s cop drama “Shades of Blue.” She has a residency show in Las Vegas, and will exec produce and serve as a judge on NBC’s UTV reality competition series “World of Dance.” She’s also developing a “futuristic bio-terror drama” called “C.R.I.S.P.R.” for NBC, and will play drug lord Griselda Blanco in an HBO TV movie.
