Buddy - The Musical

Buddy - The Musical
The Buddy Holly Story

Presented at the Burswood Theatre
Produced by Jon Nicholls and Michael Brereton
Choreographer/Resident Director: Drew Anthony
Production Music Supervisor: Robert Gavin



Final night of the Buddy Tour in Australia. 24/02/02
( and final international run after approx a 10yr period)

I wasn't originally going to see this musical but was egged on at the last minute to do so despite the ticket prices, although it was held at the Burswood which is a beautiful theatre. I'm not sure why I had little interest to see it, as I did grow up with the music of Buddy Holly continuously played by my folks.

I remember bits and pieces of his life from a tele movie and various record cover sleeves. The biggest event I can think of regarding Buddy is obviously his tragic death in a plane crash which a lot of us who know who he is would probably associate with. All in all, I felt that this musical was an interesting representation of his life and did the piecing together quite well.


The show obviously begins by introducing by introducing Buddy in his pre-famous state struggling to get his semi "coloured" sounding music out there in a period where the style was still frowned upon. (we are talking about the 50's) Begins with Buddy and his two band members, known as "Buddy and the Crickets", challenging the confines of a country music station with their own "rock and roll" style.

Th first thing that caught me was the set. Like so many other aspects of the musical including character, mood , costume and obviously music - the set worked to timewarp you back to the 50's with various paintings of 50's related products/advertising and values and the old style radio broadcasting studios. Costumes and character were complimented specifically by thick texan and african american accents which brought about the feel of time and place.

Alex Bourne as Buddy Holly was exceptional, having shed his character and thick texan accent to reveal a laid back british actor during a speech at the end of the show- he proved to pull it off very well. He had such a role to fill too, having to not only look like, act as and sing like Buddy, but also having to play electric guitar and move like Buddy, he filled the shoes of that role to a tea.

Ross Calia and Andrew Irvine played the role of his fellow followers to fame/bandmembers "The Crickets" quite well giving us humurous moments and proved to be not only talented actors but very capable musicians. They were later followed by another addition to Buddy's band, a more laidback character played by Gerard Carrol who played guitar. Other mensionables in this cast include Deb Mitchelmore who played Maria Elena, Buddy's Puerto Rican wife. The character was strong at time as portrayed by Deb who I thought complimented Bourne's portrayal of Buddy. Another mentionable is the character of the radio producer who made sure that Buddy hopped the train to fame but I am unsure of the actor's name.

This is one show in which i will comment on the whole ensemble . They produced an excellant representation of that 1950's atmosphere and what seemed remarkable in this musical was that that every actress and actor had been given their very own, specific character and you could really notice that. Ensemble proved to be not only capabable actors but singers and musicians, particularly in the big band scenes. This is one musical that I feel if ensemble was poor - the whole musical would be a let down and not even the principal players could work to bring it up. Alot of the time- it was the ensemble that made the show. Well done ensemble!!!

One aspect of the show that I was most impressed by was the amount of successful audience interaction. The characters gave you the feel that you were there in the 50's with them at one of Holly's (and other famous bands/singers) shows. This was very well done and was sure to keep audience members attentive. There was no chance to fall asleep during this show with all the constant action and volume level of the music, particularly in the second act!

I'm glad that I saw it.


The Review Master