Bridlington Spa – until Saturday 19 October 2019
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
4****
Before The Beatles, before The Stones, Rock ‘n’ Roll was born. Buddy Holly was a central and pioneering figure of mid 1950s rock and roll. Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story first opened on the West End in 1989 and is now touring the UK as part of its 30th Anniversary. I was lucky enough to catch it on an extremely wet and windy evening at Bridlington Spa.
Retelling the story of Buddy’s dogged determination and meteoric rise to fame, with his band, The Crickets, his whirlwind romance and marriage to Maria Elena Santiago, before his tragic and untimely death less than 2 years later. His life was cut short at only 22 years of age in a plane crash, which also claimed the lives of Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. It is amazing that he wrote and had so many hit songs, that are still remembered today, in such a short space of time, a testament to his talent.
Buddy, played in this instance by Christopher Weeks and sharing the role with AJ Jenks, and The Crickets start off as a country act, after all they come from Lubbock Texas, but all they really want play is rock ‘n’ roll. Buddy is not your traditional rocker, he is a bit nerdy and refuses to budge when it is suggested that he ditches his glasses, in fact he insists on wearing a pair with even thicker rims and lenses, very rock ‘n’ roll.
This show is all about the music, and none more so in the second half when we are transported to The Surf Ballroom and his final performance. The Big Bopper (Joshua Barton) and Ricky Valens (Ben Pryer) are part of his final concert and we get to celebrate their music as well.
Weeks portrays a very confident Buddy, who is happy in his own skin and knows his own mind. He does Buddy justice in his performance, vocals, guitar playing and movement. The icing on the cake though is his chemistry with the band, AJ Jenks, Joe Butcher and Josh Haberfield. When all four are playing on stage it is very charismatic and you can’t help but being whisked back in time. In fact all the actors/musicians are superb, enthusiastic, multi-talented, taking on different roles and playing numerous instruments. They all work well together and appeared to be having a blast, it is so very infectious. They had us all crying out for more, and Oh Boy they delivered.
Admittedly a lot of the audience were of a certain age, but this really is for everyone. This is an outstanding evening of great entertainment, full of laughter and fabulous tunes, Peggy Sue, That’ll Be the Day and Oh Boy amongst them. You can not help but leave the theatre with a smile on your face.