Verdict: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Buddy Holly had two record contracts, released three albums, along with 13 singles that charted in the USA Hot 100 and got married, all before his tragic death at the age of 22. He also left behind dozens of unreleased recordings, which have since been released. When I think what I had achieved by the age of 22, when held up next to Buddy Holly, I feel incredibly inadequate.
Alan James created Buddy-The Buddy Holly Story, a stage musical based on Buddy’s life and music 30 years ago, and it is still going strong. Playing at Birmingham Alexandra Theatre until March 7th, with tickets still available, it is a show that you won’t want to miss.
Holly’s music has entwined itself with life over the 60 years since his passing and even if you don’t think you know any Buddy Holly songs, you almost certainly will. The show takes full advantage of that and throws tune after tune after tune at the audience. The climax to the show is essentially a concert of Buddy Holly tunes, with a couple of tunes from Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper thrown in as well, and had the audience on their feet by the end. The cast were phenomenal and incredibly talented. Singing, acting and playing instruments throughout the show with not a single tiny mistake. A J Jenks who was playing Buddy in last nights performance may just about top my favourite theatre performance ever. He was brilliant.
We see Buddy start out in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas. He goes to Nashville to record music but is left dejected by the studio that wants him to record things their way (the country and western way) and lands at a studio run by Norman Petty and his wife Vi who encourage Buddy and his band (The Crickets) to do things their own way, the rock’n’roll way. From there we take in New York, Harlem, Texas again and finally, fatefully, the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.
The production itself is absolutely packed with songs from the 50s rock’n’roll era, and the cast are all singing and playing the instruments as part of the show, which is hugely impressive. It is a real feel-good show, one that had us and everyone around us smiling and tapping-along.
The show has been around for 30 years so theres a chance you may have seen it before, but it is well worth booking to see again. The majority of the audience in the stalls gave the cast a standing ovation, which considering as theatre buffs we see a lot of shows, it is very rare that we see such a large proportion of the audience give a standing ovation and that is testament to how absolutely brilliant the show is and how much fun Buddy the Musical was.
Would I go back to see Buddy again? Hell yes! I am still smiling now from the show.
Disclaimer: We were invited along to the press showing. All thoughts and opinions are entirely our own.