Jennifer Lopez To Star And Produce NBC’s ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ Live Production

NBC’s live rendition of Bye Bye Birdie next year, Birdie, will feature Jennifer Lopez as both executive producer and star – as character Rosie DeLeon.

NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt announced Thursday the details of next year’s production. “To have a superstar like Jennifer Lopez starring in this classic show, which every high school in America has done,” Greenblatt stated, “will ensure that our holiday musicals continue to be must-see events for the whole family,”

Greenblatt also discussed how Lopez came to them with the idea. “She came to us and said ‘I love this show, I discovered the music,’” Greenblatt said. “She has a big show in Vegas where she does ‘Lot of Livin’,’ which is a song from ‘Bye Bye Birdie.’”

Lopez, issuing a separate statement, said: “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 with Shades of Blue and I thought it would be a blast to take on one of their big live musicals.”

Previous live NBC adaptations include The Sound of Music, Peter Pan and The Wiz, with another production coming out Dec. 7 Hairspray Live! Under Greenblatt, live renditions of musicals have been a December tradition since 2013, each starring a different major actor-singer. Sound of Music Live! starred Carrie Underwood, Peter Pan Live! featured Allison Williams and Christopher Walken, The Wiz Live! had Queen Latifah and Shanice Williams. Hairspray Live! will feature Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande.

Past adaptations have received great ratings and were loved by critics, with each live show surpassing the last. When talking about the 2013 adaptation, Greenblatt said, “I think for a while around the building it was known as Greenblatt’s Folly, until we woke up the next morning and saw that 18.5 million people had watched it.”