For its second-ever production, the Auburn Community Players wanted to try something a little different.

They found it in “Bye Bye Birdie”, a Broadway musical featuring more than 35 roles. It premiered last Friday at the Auburn Avenue Theater. There are three more performances this weekend.

“Last year we did ‘Into the Woods’, which is a great show,” said Dave Cox, co-director of the theater troupe. “(Composer Stephen) Sondheim is very good, and we really liked it. But this year we wanted something that would incorporate more of the community. Last year’s cast was talented, it was just small.”

So Cox and his wife and co-director, Stephanie Cox, sought a show that would incorporate a larger cast. “Bye Bye Birdie” just happened to fit the bill.

“We wanted to bring in more of the actors locally and incorporate a wider range of ages,” Dave Cox said. ” ‘Into the Woods’ had one part for a younger person, this one we have kids from 11 all the way up to much older.”

The musical – a satire inspired by Elvis Presley’s induction into the Army in 1957 – was written by Michael Stewart with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams. It originally debuted on Broadway in 1960, where it was honored with a Tony Award for best musical. The play also spawned a run in London as well as two films – a theater release in 1963 featuring Dick Van Dyke and Ann-Margret – and a TV version in 1995 starring Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams.

For Dave Cox, the show was a perfect opportunity – with a little tweaking – to have fun and showcase some of Auburn’s finest acting talent.

“We have a unique take on this show,” he said. “The way that it’s written is outdated. A lot of the jokes are for the older folks. With that in mind, we’re trying to poke fun at it. We’re trying to make it more of a PG version, rather than a G version you get ordinarily.

“We’re community theater, so we’re not trying to offend anybody, but we’re putting some dramatic hip thrusts and those type of things in there.”

Cox continued:

“We’re trying to make it cartoony, because if we don’t, I feel it’s just too sugary sweet, and then it becomes trite. And with another theater in the area having just done it, we wanted to do something different.”

The key to changing up the feel of the show was not found in changing the music or words, but rather in the delivery, Cox said.

“We’re trying to stay away from the pastel, dream-like version of the ’50s, and be a little more real, more gritty,” he said. “Or as gritty as you can be with a cotton candy show.”

The show, which has been in rehearsal for nine weeks, features several of Cox’s students from his Rainier Middle School drama classes, as well as a handful of regional talent.

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Showtime

• What: Auburn Community Players present Bye Bye Birdie

• When: Friday, Saturday, Sunday (June 3, 4, 5), June, 10, 11 at 7:30 p.m. and June 5 and 11 at 2 p.m.

• Where: Auburn Avenue Theater, 10 Auburn Ave.

• Tickets: $15 regular, $13 students, seniors. Call 253-931-3043, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or online through Brown Paper Tickets at www.auburnwa.gov/arts.