Patrick Ballnik and Thalia Schramm in "Bye, Bye Birdie"

That “Bye, Bye Birdie” — now being staged by Ann Arbor Civic Theatre — is a musical born in a long-gone era becomes more than evident in the opening number, when smart, capable secretary Rosie (Sara Rydzewski) reveals that her big dream in life is to be an English teacher’s wife.

And “Hymn for a Sunday Evening,” wherein a family from Sweet Apple, Ohio repeatedly harmonize on Ed Sullivan’s name in dulcet tones, makes you wonder what it was like to hear this affectionate mockery on a stage while the iconic host’s “really big shoe” ruled the airways. (“Birdie” premiered in 1960.)

These two examples demonstrate the ways in which “Birdie” is a show that now feels dated in both unnerving and thoughtfully provocative ways.

Inspired by the fan response to Elvis Presley’s draft in 1958, “Birdie” — with a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse — tells the story of a rock-n-roll star, Conrad Birdie (Patrick Ballnik), who’s about to report for duty in the Army.

Before he goes, Rosie, secretary and girlfriend of Conrad’s mousy manager, Albert (Brendan Bachman), hatches a plan to get Conrad one last hit record, and thus get Albert out of debt: Conrad will perform a new song called “One Last Kiss” and then plant a kiss, on national television, on a randomly-selected member of his fan club. The lucky girl turns out to be Kim MacAfee (Thalia Schramm) — but her new steady Hugo (Nicholas Yocum) is less than thrilled with the news.

Two of the best reasons to see Civic’s production are Rydzewski and Schramm, each of whom seem wholly at home in her character’s skin while also providing clear, confident vocals throughout the two and a half hour show. Rydzewski made the strongest impression on opening night with her performance of “An English Teacher” (despite one botched entrance), “Let’s Settle Down,” and the saucily fun number “Spanish Rose,” while Schramm won me over with “How Lovely to Be a Woman,” the nicely-executed “One Boy” (accompanied by Maya Flores and Hannah Lehker), and her hilarious depiction of a young girl desperately trying to sound older and more experienced than she really is while hanging out with a rock star.

In terms of the show’s comic potential, Wendy Sielaff offered up the biggest laughs on opening night, playing Mae, Albert’s bigoted, guilt-wielding, suffocating mother-in-law. Yes, the character, as written, is pretty one-note, but Sielaff manages to make that note sing. And Ballnik channels his inner Elvis for Conrad’s numbers, vocally and physically, with positive results.

The orchestra was decent overall, but seemed to tire as the show progressed opening night, as evidenced by the rough-sounding, highly-exposed instrumental number, “Shriners Ballet.” Similarly, the show itself seemed to sputter a bit in the second act. A couple of ensemble performers appeared to be walking through some of DeeDee Ulintz’s choreography, and “Kids Reprise” felt labored. (Plus, it’s a small detail, but I wondered at Rosie wearing a different dress and hairstyle in the second act’s first scene, when the action appears to immediately follow the closing scene of act one.)

Generally, director Rachel Francisco has fun with “Birdie” and tries to let its best moments shine. But when the show’s strong central heroine, Rosie, is wooed in the end by Albert’s firm pronouncement of their strictly prescribed roles as a man and a woman, “Birdie”’s era of bobby socks and bubblegum suddenly seems infinitely less appealing.

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.

“Bye, Bye Birdie” continues through Sunday at Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, 911 North University Avenue.