KULR 8 Review: Bye Bye Birdie

BILLINGS –

In May 2013, the Venture Theater in Downtown Billings was on the verge of closing.

“I’ve been involved with this building, and the organization that’s existed here, for 10 years now,” said Tucker Downs, 18. He witnessed the theater’s merger with the Billings Opera.

“There was a lot of people who were upset, because they didn’t know what was gonna happen,” said Tucker.

“One of the best analogies I can come up with is in, like, a divorced family, when there’s a step-family,” said Myra Nurre. She went on to say the summer months gave the two sides a chance to transition into one team, and now, the NOVA Center for the Performing Arts is back in business.

Throughout the day Thursday, cast and crew of classic musical “Bye Bye Birdie” rehearsed at the NOVA Center, in preparation for a live show Thursday evening.

“We’ve got a sold out house tonight, which is fantastic, because we haven’t had that for a long time,” said Tucker.

“We’ve got 35 kids in the cast, and some tremendous people working backstage helping us out,” said Myra. “The energy and the excitement that they bring to the stage, just makes for a really, really important show, and it’s just electric to watch.”

“Bye Bye Birdie” runs every Thursday through Sunday, until August 25th. The next performance by the NOVA Center is “The Giver”, which runs from September 27th through 29th.