By Daniel Buckwalter

In the end, as one of its songs earnestly notes, this musical is “Honestly Sincere” — or as honestly sincere as any choreographed celebrity life can be milked for.

No matter, the musical Bye Bye Birdie is two hours of charming, comedic fun with a romantic twist for flavor at Actors Cabaret of Eugene. The Non-Stop Players, under the direction of Karen Olsen, completed the first weekend at ACE, and six more performances remain through August 16.

All of it is a tribute to an early scene of perhaps the most choreographed celebrity life this country had witnessed to that point, that of Elvis Presley. Specifically, the musical — which made its debut in 1960 — plays with Presley’s 1958 entry into the Army and the legion of fans, especially young girls, who were crestfallen that their man would not be on stage for two years.

To be sure, the musical — book by Michael Stewart, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams — does have fun with the residents of the fictional town Sweet Apple, Ohio.

Conrad Birdie, the character in the role of Presley (Hayden Shoup), announces in a farewell appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show that he will show up at this sleepy town to share a goodbye kiss on national television with the very young Kim MacFee (Emi Henrickson).

The town is excited, and, of course, nothing goes right. Mayhem ensues on every level. That includes the on-again-off-again romance between Birdie’s agent Albert Peterson (Spencer Williams) and his trusty assistant from Allentown, Pennsylvania, Rosie Alveraz (Lexy Menjivar-Grueskin).

Alveraz wants Peterson to be done with Birdie so she can marry him and live the sedate life as the spouse of an English teacher. It is a long road to get there, but happy endings abound.

Don’t look for threads of deep meaning in Bye Bye Birdie. The kids are simply looking to break the social shackles that have gripped them and live life on their terms, and the adults are facing angst at the notion that their once rigid social platforms are crumbling.

Just sit back and enjoy the ride, especially the work of the kids. There are more kids in this production than I have seen before with The Non-Stop Players, and they hold their own.

It’s a treat to see.