THEATER REVIEW ‘BYE BYE BIRDIE’ : Noisy Fun : Despite some shortcomings, the Conejo Players’ production of the 32-year-old musical holds up.

A rollicking musical firmly rooted in the ‘50s, “Bye Bye Birdie” has been popular since its 1960 Broadway debut. Thirty-two years later, the current Conejo Players production is a walloping hit.

Michael Stewart’s script holds up despite references that today are more obscure than those in a Dennis Miller monologue. The costumes are colorful, and most of the tunes are eminently hummable.

Several times during Saturday’s performance, the show stopped as individual scenes received ovations from the capacity audience. With that kind of reception, the production’s shortcomings fade into the background.

This “Birdie” is the noisiest show in town, even before the curtain is raised. Rock ‘n’ roll star Conrad Birdie is due any minute--to plant “one last kiss” on fan Kim MacAfee before he leaves to serve in the Army--and the teen-age population of Sweet Apple, Ohio, gathers outside the theater and in the lobby, finally racing up and down the aisles singing “We love you Conrad” in anticipation.

A parallel plot finds Birdie’s manager and chief songwriter, Albert Peterson, floundering somewhere between marriage to his longtime girlfriend and secretary Rosie, and loyalty to his domineering mother, whose apron strings could hold up a suspension bridge.

Rose wants Albert to settle down to a respectable life as “an English teacher.” Mae, the mother, doesn’t want to lose her son to anybody, particularly the Hispanic Rosie, whom she insults at every opportunity.

Director Travis Michael Holder, a veteran of the Broadway production, has done what he can to retain Gower Champion’s innovative staging. He has even tried to goose up the show’s energy level by adding more teen-agers to the chorus and by increasing the tempo of some of the non-rock musical numbers, which predominate.

Jim Holmes and Pam Leon co-star as Albert and Rosie. Both are more than acceptable singers and adequate dancers, with Holmes adding a bit of his own personality to Dick Van Dyke’s original portrayal of the character.

Kim MacAfee is played by the reliable K. Jill Sorgen, who is a lot more convincing as a 15-year-old than Ann-Margret was in the film version. Her gawky boyfriend, Hugo Peabody, is played to adenoidal perfection by Brandon Rane.

Scott Mansfield and Marianne Corney portray Kim’s parents. She is a typical sitcom mom of the ‘50s and ‘60s, with not much to do but smile gamely. And he makes sure that Paul Lynde’s original characterization will not be forgotten.

John K. Wilson is convincing as the arrogant Birdie, Gene Bernath manages to suggest Ed Sullivan with no physical resemblance whatever, and a quartet of barbershop singers add considerably to the song “Baby Talk to Me.”

The show’s funniest cameo may be by Laura Tennenhouse as the mayor’s wife--without a line, she gets a couple of the show’s biggest laughs.

Mae Peterson and Kim’s younger brother Randolph are each played by two sets of actors: Penny Puente and Pat Van Patten, and Machael Berns and Cameron Clarino, respectively. We aren’t given a clue as to who plays whom during a particular performance. If it can’t be announced before the show, an acknowledgment during curtain calls would seem appropriate.

The live backstage orchestra is given similar short shrift, with no mention in the program, let alone individual credits. The only reason the audience knew that the players were (commendably) live, rather than prerecorded, Saturday night was their imprecision: the biggest collection of clams south of Pismo Beach. Things should improve with practice, and acknowledgment of the musicians’ presence might provide additional motivation.

With a couple of exceptions--notably Holmes’ pas de deux with an uncredited girl (possibly Aimee Artukovich) and the tap-dancing finale to “Put On a Happy Face”--the dancing isn’t as precise as it might be, and the show’s overall pacing seemed rather abrupt at times, as if everybody on stage was pausing while trying to remember what to do next. Again, experience should smooth this considerably, and the show is so much fun that very few in the audience seemed to care.

* WHERE AND WHEN

“Bye Bye Birdie” continues Thursday through Saturday nights through May 16 at the Conejo Players Theater, 351 S. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks. Performances are at 8:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $10 Fridays and Saturdays, and $8 Thursdays, with a $1 discount for senior citizens and children. For reservations (recommended) or information, call 495-3715.