The music of Buddy Holly is a firm favourite in both of our households so we were super excited to be invited to see ‘The World’s Most Successful Rock & Roll Musical’ at The Alexandra as it celebrates its 30th anniversary with a 2019 and 2020 UK Tour.
The show first opened in 1989 at Theatre Royal, Plymouth and I first caught the show on tour in Birmingham a few years ago. It has now been seen by over 22 million fans since it opened in London’s West End in 1989, my dad being one of them. Inspiring the juke-box musical phonemenon, Buddy has reached out to audiences young and old across the globe and delivered a production packed full of classic hits.
Buddy tells the story of the musical icon’s rise to fame and transports the audience to his final legendary performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, before his tragic death at the age of 22. It features hits such as That’ll Be The Day, Oh Boy, Rave On, La Bamba, Chantilly Lace, Johnny B. Goode, Raining In My Heart, Everyday and Shout.
This production captured the love and life of Buddy Holly with it’s bold 1950s iconic costumes and talented musical cast. Writer and Producer Alan Janes has created a love letter to the Buddy Holly era. With musical direction by Dean Elliott and direction by Matt Salisbury this piece of juke-box theatre still stands the test of time.
Our Buddy was played by AJ Jenks who was charismatic, endearing and personable. Joined alongside him were the impressive Crickets Joe B Mauldin (Joe Butcher), Jerry Allison (Josh Haberfield) and Jack Daw (Jordan Alexander). This touring production was full to the brim with talent including Cartier Fraser and Sasha Latoya who captured the audience with their soulful voices during their Apollo performance. With The Big Bopper played by the charming Joshua Barton and showstopping Ben Pryer as Ritchie Valens, this production had the Birmingham audience dancing in their seats.
Packed head to toe with rock and roll, Buddy is a timeless musical that old fans will cherish and new fans will fall in love with. Celebrating the life and talent of Buddy and musical icons such as Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, this musical never fails to make me smile. If you want a good night out at the theatre and need to shake the blues away, then this is the production for you. It will leave you rocking in the aisles and dancing to your car, so don’t miss it!
Buddy is playing at The Alexandra from the 3rd – 7th of March 2020 before it continues on its UK tour.
DT
Theatretastic 5/5:
We say: “Packed head to toe with rock & roll, Buddy is a timeless musical that old fans will cherish and new fans will fall in love with!”
Theatretastic 