Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story - Review by Elle Molyneux

**** (4 Stars)

Liverpool Empire - Thursday 13 March, 2014

The Buddy Holly Story follows the brief career of the American Rock ‘n’ Roll star as he graduates from a small-town country singer to having a whirlwind pop/rock 'n' roll career before the tragic plane crash that took his life.

The ambience of the entire show comes from its incredible, energetic cast including a fresh faced Roger Rowley who plays Buddy. He provides an unforgettable experience for an audience as he recreates Buddy’s hits like "That’ll be the Day" and the crowd pleaser that is "Peggy Sue".

Even though the story was about Buddy himself, it is the joint effort from all of the cast that makes it the joy it was to watch. In Act One, Buddy’s supporting band ‘The Crickets’ have us all laughing at their happy-go-lucky, charismatic behaviour with Joe B Mauldin (bass player) dancing with a double bass like nobody has ever before and Jerry Allison (drummer) giving a solid beat by slapping his thighs for a good few minutes having us clapping along.

However, my favourite performance, still in Act One, was a few months after Buddy’s success, where you are transported to downtown New York, in Harlem’s Apollo Theatre and he and the Crickets are able to smash through the radical racial divide and win over a tough audience showing the power that his music had. The Harlem couple that performed "Shout" had the crowd up on their feet as an air of nostalgia made it around the theatre making it a truly wonderful performance.

At the peak of Buddy’s popularity we are taken on a journey to the Clear Lake Concert in Act Two. Here we had The Big Bopper singing "Chantilly Lace" and Ritchie Valens giving us a sultry rendition of "La Bamba" with the hip thrusting looking like it would never stop as people joyously danced through the aisles.

Almost everyone was on their feet for "Rave On" and there was no way they were sitting for the finale of "Johnny B Goode"!

This is an enchanting musical even after 25 years of being performed and the performance brings something fresh to these classic songs. I did think that the story aspect was somewhat lacking but jamming in so many songs into a 2 1/2 hour performance, it’s to be expected. It’s a credit to Buddy Holly and really grasps the spirit of how he performed.

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is currently on a UK Tour. Full information here: http://www.buddythemusical.com