Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
Embassy Theatre Skegness
02 - 06 May 2023
Buddy Holly died aged 22. To begin a review with that fact is hardly a spoiler. Along with pilot Roger Peterson, 17-year-old Ritchie Valens and 28-year-old J. P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) Holly died in a fatal plane crash leaving behind a legacy of recordings unrivalled by any other of his generation. With a professional career of just over three years, he recorded over 200 songs. This is the 30th anniversary tour of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story and the world of music owes more to Buddy Holly than most other performers of his generation. He was a creative powerhouse, experimenting with form and sound and had he lived, he would have gone on to form is own studio, production company and publishing house. His music influenced bands as big as The Beatles and this show, written and produced by Alan Janes, is testament to the fact that he was and still is regarded as an innovator.
This evening's performance features actor A. J. Jenks in the role of Buddy, a role he shares with Christopher Weeks on the tour. Each actor takes turns in playing the music icon and brings something of themselves to the interpretation of Buddy. Jenks succeeds in reminding the audience just how young and full of life Buddy Holly was. He is a consummate musician and singer and a vivacious performer springing across the stage and swing his Fender Stratocaster across the back of his neck and playing solos like that. The awkwardness he displays in the phone call to his mother, as he seeks to explain that he has chosen to marry a girl he has only just met, is palpable. Especially as he had chosen to marry a Hispanic girl during times of extreme racial tension and apartheid still in place across the USA. Jenks pitches this moment perfectly. I felt at times his vocal was not quite as accurate as I would have liked, sounding too deliberately nasal for Holly, and yet he still captures the essence of the performer and is a thoroughly satisfying lead for the company throughout. I will be returning to the venue to watch Weeks in the role on Saturday and it will make for an interesting comparison.
The whole cast throw themselves into the show with great abandon and the audience love them for it. We are taken on a journey back through time and reminded not only of the music but also some of the other leading performers of the day. Miguel Angel multi-roles as Tyrone Jones (the host at the Apollo Theatre) and Ritchie Valens and he delivers a powerhouse performance of Jackie Wilson's Reet Petite before returning to the stage in the second act as the latino rocker famous for the hi-energy rocker La Bamba. He is a firecracker of a performer and gives the performance everything, it is easy to understand why he is also the choreographer for the show.
The other lead role of note is that of The Big Bopper played by Christopher Chandler. JP Richardson was more of a novelty act back in the fifties with his comic rock 'n' roll numbers. He was more of a DJ/MC than a true rock icon, but will always be inextricably linked to the legend of Holly. Had he not died in that fatal crash, he would probably have been destined to be a mere novelty footnote in the history of rock. Chandler plays a larger than life version of the performer with his big, brash personality dominating the stage at the Surf Lake Ballroom during the Winter Dance Party. His role would probably be akin to a hypeman today, warming up the audience ready for the main act and serves much the same purpose in this musical. Nevertheless, Chandler grabs is opportunity to shine with both hands and makes the stage his own.
As Hipockets Duncan and multi-roling throughout, Thomas Mitchells is another commanding performer. Simply through a change of jacket, a shift in vocal tone, altered stance, he morphs from one character to another before our very eyes. It is easy to see why he has previously played the role of the Big Bopper, but this role really gives him the chance to demonstrate his range with the shift from character to character (often whilst delivering expository lines). From interacting with the audience ("Where is Notting-ham? I don't think I know that place.") through to performing the mellifluous tones of Hipockets Duncan, this is a performance worthy of note and could so easily be overlooked in a show where the music is the real star, Mitchells really stands out.
I also really enjoyed the diverse musical talents of the actors on stage as they switched from speaking roles to musicians. Stephanie Cremona as Vi Petty was hugely notable, playing producer Norman Petty's long-suffering wife who contributed much to the early and best known Holly records - as a piano or celeste player - quietly proving the principle that behind every successful man is a strong, talented woman. She also played piano and saxophone during the Winter Dance Party Scenes, switching effortlessly between instruments with no fanfare. Another musician/actor I would like to mention is Daniella Agredo Piper who plays Holly's love interest Maria Elena Santiago (Holly) the wife left behind in New York to have a baby, that she later lost after hearing of her husband's fate. Agredo Piper is the beguiling, yet naive, object of Holly's affection. She also doubles up on saxophone during the Winter Dance Party. I have always believed hers is a role that could afford to be given more stage time in this play in all honesty. Agredo Piper gives it her best shot, but there is still greater emotion to be drawn out of the real-life tragedy if only Janes' piece would allow it.
Joe Butcher as Joe B. Maudlin and Josh Haberfield both return to play The Crickets and during the performance I saw Christopher Weeks played The Crickets' rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan. Also featured in the cast were Samuelle Durojaiye and Laura Dene-Perryamn whose duet on The Isley Brothers' hit Shout brought the house down. Finally, the cast was rounded out by Jacob Leeson and Ewan Ling.
This show is a vastly scaled-down touring version when compared to the lavish West End production I first saw in the early 1990s at the Victoria Palace Theatre and yet it still has the power to demonstrate how fleeting fame or celebrity is when compared to real musical genius. Buddy Holly was few people's idea of a handsome leading man with his goofy look and gangly limbs, as he peered out from behind heavy horn-rimmed spectacles. Yet he remains an innovator, a trailblazer and an icon. This show remains a fitting tribute and still brings us the best party in town. Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story runs until Saturday at the Embassy Theatre in Skegness and tickets are still available for all performances.
Andy Evans 03 May 2023
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