Peace Out, Birdie! Adam Shankman Eyes a Hip Hop Bye Bye Birdie Film Update

Adam Shankman, director of the hit movie-musical Hairspray and the upcoming film adaptation of Rock of Ages, is developing a hip hop movie version of the classic musical Bye Bye Birdie, according to Variety.

Featuring music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams and a book by Michael Stewart, Bye Bye Birdie begins when hip-swinging '60s superstar Conrad Birdie is drafted into the army. Birdie's manager Albert and his secretary Rosie cook up a plan to send him off with a swell new song and one last kiss from a lucky teenage fan on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Shankman’s Bye Bye Birdie isn't the only classic musical receiving a potential hip hop update. Will Smith and Jay-Z are also working on an Annie remake, starring Smith’s daughter Willow as the title orphan. 

Bye Bye Birdie originally opened on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on April 14, 1960. The show won a Tony Award for Best Musical and played a total of 607 performances before closing on October 7, 1961. A 1963 film adaptation followed, starring Dick Van Dyke as Albert, Janet Leigh as Rosie and Ann-Margret as Kim McAfee. The musical was later adapted for TV in 1995 with a film starring Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams. Bye Bye Birdie received its first Broadway revival in 2009 with a production by the Roundabout Theatre Company, starring John Stamos and Gina Gershon.