Opening night is Friday, March 3, and there are six performances on the schedule at Fort Vancouver High School

Put on a happy face, because it’s almost time to watch Bye Bye Birdie.

The loving musical send-up of the early 1960s, small-town America, teenagers, and rock ‘n roll, Bye Bye Birdie remains as fresh and vibrant as ever.

Beginning this week, Journey Theater is presenting Bye Bye Birdie — young performers edition — at Fort Vancouver High school.

Bye Bye Birdie tells the story of heartthrob Conrad Birdie. He has been drafted, so he chooses All-American girl Kim McAfee for a very public farewell kiss. 

The musical has strong parts for children, and a hilarious script. It remains one of the most popular shows in schools across the country. 

Hit songs include: “Put on a Happy Face,” “One Last Kiss,” “One Boy,” “A lot of Livin’ to Do,” “Kids!” and “Rosie.”

Journey Theater is a Jesus-centered theater arts program that exists to grow youth and their families in character and purpose to be difference-makers in the world. Journey Theater has been serving Clark County since 2002. 

There are six performances of Bye Bye Birdie on the schedule. Opening night is Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m. There are two shows on March 4, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The cast returns the following week for the same schedule: 7 p.m. Friday, March 10 and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 11.

Tickets are on sale at https://journeytheater.org/ or by calling 360-750-8550. Adult tickets are $17. Youth and senior citizen tickets are $14. It is $2 more per ticket for purchases at the door. 

For more on Journey Theater, go to its website: www.journeytheater.org