Step Behind The Stage
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
New Theatre, Peterborough - 26/09/23
Review by Daniel Marshall
This week Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story UK Tour reached New Theatre in Peterborough, and we were lucky enough to attend the event. Buddy was one of the very first jukebox musicals, originally opening in October 1989, with over 22 million people having watched the musical since. The musical spent over 14 years on London’s West End and has since become an extremely successful touring production, winning multiple awards. The show combines biopic storytelling with concert recreations to pay tribute to the groundbreaking, yet tragically brief career, of Rock ’n’ Roll legend Buddy Holly. Buddy shows Buddy Holly’s heartwarming journey from an up-and-coming country singer to a world-renowned Rock ’n’ Roll trailblazer, finishing with a recreation of his legendary final performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa; Buddy’s final performance before his untimely passing aged 22.
The cast for this UK tour is packed full of multi-talented actor-musicians who bring the timeless stars of yesteryear to life by not only singing and acting, but playing each instrument live on stage. The lead role of Buddy Holly is shared between AJ Jenks and Christopher Weeks, with the latter playing Buddy tonight. Christopher Weeks feels born to play this role. He has the look, the voice and the moves to really pull you into a world of escapism where the real Buddy Holly is on stage.
The show’s storytelling is held together through the narration and framing of Thomas Mitchells, who delivered a standout performance playing five different characters throughout the night. Mitchells perfectly guided the emotional rollercoaster of the show, while adding some hilarious ad-lib moments. The first act shows Buddy’s journey from the formation of The Crickets to their infamous performance as the first white band to play Harlem’s Apollo Theatre.
The Apollo scene was brought in by the stunning vocals of Samuelle Durojaiye and Laura-Dene Perryman, performing as if tonight’s audience was the exact Harlem audience from 1957, deep in a racially tense America. This feeling was exacerbated when The Crickets took to the stage, with Josh Haberfield, Joe Butcher and AJ Jenks delivering incredible performances to recreate just how high their anxiety must have been stepping out in front of the understandably tough crowd that night. Along with another outstanding moment from Weeks’ Buddy, the band’s confidence grew throughout the performance, just as the real Crickets would have. By the end of the performance the energy was palpable, topped off by Joe Butcher delivering some of the most impressive double bass spinning tricks you could ever see.
The second act was much more concert focused, but in a meaningful and emotional way. It is set in the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, which proved to be Buddy Holly’s last ever show. The ballroom provided the perfect setting to recreate golden moments from Buddy Holly’s last performance. However, the show never shied away from highlighting the time’s other iconic musicians, most notably The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, both of whom lost their lives in the same plane crash as Buddy Holly.
During the Winter Dance Party Christopher Chandler gave the most brilliant rendition of ‘Chantilly Lace’, perfectly capturing the tongue-in-cheek fun that Bopper was all about. This was followed by Miguel Angel, who is also the show’s choreographer, delivering a hip-thrusting, pelvis-shaking performance of ‘La Bamba’, creating one of the show’s most feel-good moments.
The second act began moving towards its end with a deeply poignant tribute to Buddy Holly, before giving the audience a chance to sing along, sending everyone home happy. Buddy is as side-splittingly funny as it is deeply emotional, giving you every emotion you could want from a show… “and the rest will just be Rock & Roll”.
Listed Cast:
AJ Jenks – Buddy Holly (at certain performances)
Christopher Weeks – Buddy Holly (at certain performances)
Miguel Angel – Ritchie Valens & Tyrone Jones
Joe Butcher – Joe B. Mauldin
Christopher Chandler – The Big Bopper
Stephanie Cremona – Vi Petty
Samuelle Durojaiye – Marlena Madison
Josh Haberfield – Jerry Allison
Jacob Leeson – Swing Actor & Musician
Ewan Ling – Jack Daw & Asst. Musical Director
Thomas Mitchells – Hipockets Duncan
Laura-Dene Perryman – Chantel Williams
Daniella Agredo Piper – Maria Elena