Show Synopsis:
Rock and roll superstar Conrad Birdie has been drafted into the army, and his agent Albert stages a contest for a regular American girl to get kissed by Birdie on national TV right before he leaves. Kim MacAfee is chosen, and her new boyfriend Hugo worries that Kim likes Conrad more than she likes him. Their small Ohio town is turned upside-down by the arrival of Conrad, Albert, Albert's secretary and girlfriend Rosie, and all the journalists. Rosie is trying to get Albert to marry her, settle down, and be an English teacher, but his mother expresses her displeasure of Rosie and her Spanish origins. Rosie and Hugo plot to ruin the Ed Sullivan Show broadcast of the "last kiss," and Hugo punches Conrad on national television, causing Alfred to break up with Rosie and Kim to break up with Hugo. Conrad encourages the local teenagers to party, which upsets the town's adults, and Conrad gets arrested. Rosie and Albert reconcile, as do Kim and Hugo, and Albert bails Conrad out and sends him out of town. Albert promises to marry Rosie and settle down.
Character:
Kim McAfee, a sweet 15-year-old girl who is excited at the prospect of growing up; naïve.
Song Context:
Hugo gave Kim his pin, which means that they're going steady, and all the neighborhood teenagers are talking about it. Kim is excited to have a boyfriend for the first time, because she knows that growing up is better than staying a kid forever.
Fun Facts:
1) The plot of this musical was very loosely based on Elvis Presley's draft notice in 1957.
2) Susan Watson originated the role of Kim in the Broadway musical, but Ann-Margret played the role in the 1963 film adaptation, and the film's interpretation of Kim was much more sex-driven and glamorous than in the show. Watson later said that "anyone who likes the film didn't see the show."
3) The 1995 television movie adaptation starred pop singer Chynna Phillips as Susan.
"When you're a skinny child of fourteen,
Wide with braces from ear to ear,
You doubt that you will ever be appealing.
Then Hallelujah! You are fifteen
And the braces disappear
And your skin is smooth and clear
And you have that happy grown-up female feeling.
How lovely to be a woman,
The wait was well worth while;
How lovely to wear mascara
And smile a woman's smile.
How lovely to have a figure,
That's round instead of flat;
Whenever you hear boys whistle,
You're what they're whistling at.
It's wonderful to feel
The way a woman feels;
It gives you such a glow just to know
You're wearing lipstick and heels!
How lovely to be a woman
And have one job to do;
To pick out a boy and train him
And then when you are through,
You've made him the man you want him to be!
Life's lovely when you're a woman like me!
How wonderful to know
The things a woman knows;
How marvelous to wait for a date
In simply beautiful clothes!
How lovely to be a woman
And change from boys to men,
To go to a fancy nightclub
And stay out after ten.
How lovely to be so grown-up and free!
Life's lovely when you're a woman like me!"