Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is a musical based on the life and songs of the famous singer, Buddy Holly. It’s a good show, that at times feels more like a Buddy Holly concert. Here’s my Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story theatre review.
Overview and plot synopsis of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is a musical that follows the rise, and tragic end, of the famous rock and roll star Buddy Holly. While it is a musical, it often feels more like a concert of Buddy Holly’s most famous songs. There’s not a huge amount of plot, so my Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story theatre review won’t really give plot spoilers.
Act One
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is set in 1950s America. It starts in Lubbock, Texas in 1956. A young Buddy Holly is having problems with recording studios, as he tries to move away from country music, and move towards rock and roll music. Along with his band mates, they form ‘The Crickets’. Buddy Holly and The Crickets find success with their rock and roll music with producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico. There, they record “That’ll Be the Day,” which instantly becomes a hit and catapults them to national fame. This leads them to a string of hits. And we see them record some of their most famous songs in the recording studio.
The success of Buddy Holly’s rock and roll music leads to them having a ground-breaking appearance at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. It’s the first time a white rock band has performed at this venue. After initial scepticism from black performers, Buddy Holly and the Crickets perform a hugely successful concert at the Apollo Theatre. The first half of the show ends with them performing at the Apollo Theatre, but performing to audience like they are the audience in the Apollo Theatre.
Act Two
In Act 2, Buddy Holly’s rising fame starts to bring tension with the band. He falls in love with and marries Maria Elena Santiago – within 5 hours of meeting her. But soon after, he parts ways with The Crickets to pursue a solo career.
As a solo artist, he headlines the Winter Dance Party tour alongside Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. The tour is hard in the harsh winter weather, but Buddy Holly’s success continues.
Towards the end of the musical, there’s a harrowing scene where Buddy’s wife doesn’t want him to get on the plane to the next destination, but he persuades her that he needs to get on the plane to continue the tour. The story culminates in the fateful night of February 3, 1959, when all three musicians on the tour die in a plane crash – a moment immortalized as “The Day the Music Died.”
Despite its tragic ending, the show is a happy celebration of Buddy Holly’s enduring legacy. After a sad scene showing just Buddy Holly’s guitar, on its own in front of the stage curtain, the show cuts back to Buddy Holly performing some of his most famous songs. So the show ends as a concert, with the audience standing and clapping along to the music.
What I liked about Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
I enjoyed Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. This show is undoubtedly all about Buddy Holly’s music. A lot of the show feels more like a concert of Buddy Holly songs rather than a musical. I had slightly mixed views on this (which I’ll talk about more later), but overall I think it worked well.
The ending – with the audience getting involved
The songs of Buddy Holly are so good, and they’re so well known, so it was nice to see these songs all performed live on stage. A lot of the audience definitely enjoyed it – with a lot dancing away in their seats to the music, and really getting into it by the end. The ending of the show was really good fun, with the whole audience on their feet, dancing and clapping (and some badly singing along…but luckily the music from the stage was loud enough so you couldn’t hear the audience singing too much!).
I liked that the ending of the show didn’t focus too much on Buddy Holly’s tragic death in the plane crash. Of course the show addressed this, and it was a sad moment. But then the show moved back to being a concert of his songs, with the audience getting even more involved. I liked that the show had a fun, happy ending that left the audience buzzing at the end. It felt like a fitting tribute to Buddy Holly and The Crickets, and their music. The show really is a celebration of their music – and it focuses on celebrating the music rather than dwelling on the tragedy.
A concert of Buddy Holly songs
It’s a great show to go to if you want a show that’s more like a concert, performing his best songs. Most of the show is more like a concert. In Act One, the first half is mainly Buddy Holly and The Crickets recording their songs in the recording studio – so the stage is just Buddy Holly and the band, performing the songs to the audience, with a small desk in the corner to represent the recording manager. The second half of Act One is the concert at the Apollo, and apart from a few backstage scenes, this is again Buddy Holly and the Crickets performing to the audience.
Act Two follows this theme, with probably about two thirds being Buddy Holly and the band performing the songs to the audience. It definitely felt more like a concert at times than a musical. But the songs are so good, so it was nice to see them centre stage.
It was nice to see how some of the songs were made – such as the song ‘Everyday’ which involved a new musical instrument, and the drummer slapping his knees instead of playing the drums.
My favourite song in the show was ‘Peggy Sue’. They did a tease of this song in the recording studio in Act One. But they waited until the Apollo Concert to play this song in full to the audience. It worked well to have this most famous song performed properly at the concert towards the end of Act One.
Great performances
The performances of everyone on stage were amazing. Buddy Holly was an amazing singer, while playing amazing guitar as well, and he kept up the energy and great singing throughout the whole show. As you’d expect from the title of the show, Buddy Holly is a main character. And he’s on stage nearly all the time, and performing about 20 songs. It must be exhausting, but he was a fantastic performer. He was constantly singing and playing his guitar, doing some impressive tricks with the guitar as well towards the end, including playing it around the back of his head.
The Double Base player vey good as well. In final songs at the concert at the end of Act Two, he was really impressive, doing some really impressive tricks with the Double Base. He had it laid on its side, and then he lay on top of it while still playing it. Then he rested it on his knee, and Buddy Holly climbed on top of it while still performing on his guitar. Then the Double Bass player climbed on top of it – all while still playing. It was all really impressive, and made the concert elements of the show great to watch visually, as well as great to listen to.
What I wasn’t so sure about
Overall, my Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story theatre review is positive. It was a fun show, filled with great music.
But I was a bit surprised about how much the show felt like a concert, rather than a musical. It worked ok, and it was great to see the songs in concert-format – even in the recording studio. I’d say about 80% of the show was Buddy Holly and the band performing to the audience. Which was great, to showcase the music. But it sometimes felt like there was some plot missing, especially as it was meant to be a musical.
There really isn’t a huge amount of plot. There was a narrator in red baseball cap who came on stage a few times to explain things, but there’s not much that really needs explaining because not much happens. It’s basically just the recording studio, and then concert performances.
The show is much more about the music rather than the personal lives of the characters. It’s about how they came to record their songs, not about them as people. The closest we get to personal details is a few snippets of dialogue. Buddy’s mum phones to make sure he’s eaten, and he gets told not to wear glasses on stage but decides he’s going to anyway. And in the second half, there’s one scene where Buddy and his wife are sat on the sofa. I think this was the only scene that isn’t based around the band performing/recording. Apart form that, this show about the music.
Luckily, the music is so good, so it can carry the whole show. But if you’re not a fan of their music, there wouldn’t really be much at all in this show for you. You don’t need to know all the songs to be able to enjoy the show, but you should at least enjoy this style of music as the show is so focused on that.
Would I recommend Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
My Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story theatre review is positive, so I would recommend this show. It’s definitely a show for anyone who is a fan of the music of Buddy Holly and wants to see it performed live on stage. There are chances to sing and dance along to the music, and it really is a celebration of the music. There’s not a huge amount of plot, and the show feels more like a concert than a musical. But it’s still a really enjoyable night out at the theatre.
Hope you enjoyed my Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story theatre review! Check out my other theatre reviews for more shows in the West End, across the UK and the world.
