NBC’s Bye Bye Birdie Live!, which was initially slated to air in December 2017, has been pushed back to 2018, according to Variety.
The project was delayed in order accommodate star and producer Jennifer Lopez’s schedule, which already includes two NBC titles: World of Dance and Shades of Blue.
NBC has Jesus Christ Superstar Live! on deck; the Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera will air Easter Sunday (April 1, 2018). The network will not present a live musical special this year in place of Bye Bye Birdie. Executive producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan—the pair also behind the live broadcasts of The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz, and Hairspray—are also at work on a televised staging of Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men.
Bye Bye Birdie Live! will feature an adapted script by Harvey Fierstein, who also wrote the screenplays for NBC's The Wiz and Hairspray. Tony winner Jerry Mitchell and Fox's Grease: Live Emmy winner Alex Rudzinski will direct.
Other than Lopez as Rosie, no casting for the live telecast had been announced.
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The NBC broadcast is also scheduled to feature performances from the casts of Death Becomes Her, Hell’s Kitchen, and The Outsiders.
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