Coincidence? Sort of. It just so happens that it is summer. It is just so happens that Bye Bye Birdie has been running on the Decades channel on TV. And it just so happens that it’s now been 39 years (WHAT??) since summer theater at The Barn Theatre in Rumson was in full swing and in rehearsals for Bye Bye Birdie.

Many friendships were formed during that summer adventure all those decades ago (Yikes!). Most of the cast bonded and many are still friends.

So, the Retro Pic of the Day honors time-honored theatrical bonds of friendship formed and, in many cases, enduring.

Pictured are: yours truly, who played the mayor’s wife, Alisa Roblenski, a Birdie fan, and former Rumsonite Elaine Kraft, who is ironically now opening in a production of Music Man. She had done the show at The Barn many years ago.

Alisa just recently reunited, for the first time in 35 years, with Connie Cairo, who played the lead teen role, Kim McAfee.

There are no buds like show biz buds!

Did you do summer theater at The Barn? Which shows?

— Elaine Van Develde