Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story, Festival Theatre Edinburgh Review

★★★★

Reviewer - Jacqueline

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story has been gracing stages across the globe since its premiere at London’s Victoria Palace Theatre in 1989. As one of the earliest examples of a ‘jukebox musical’, the show tells the story of Buddy Holly’s short yet eventful life through some of his most iconic songs. For over thirty years this show has been a staple of the international theatre scene, so how does the 2023 UK tour hold up?

Buddy takes us on a journey from January 1956 to February 3rd 1959, ‘The Day the Music Died’. Following the early days of Buddy and The Crickets as they carve out a career in the music industry, this show will have you laughing, cheering, and dancing all the way home. The decision to have the incredibly talented cast play their own instruments ensures that the music feels authentic, and Matt Salisbury’s direction ensures the production has a seamless and quick paced approach to it.

A J Jenks portrayed Buddy effortlessly, with charm and impeccable vocals. The audience were transfixed by his performance and he played into those audience interactions seamlessly. Joe Butcher, Josh Haberfield and Christopher Weeks played the Joe B Maudlin, Jerry Allison and Niki Sullivan, the other members of the Crickets. The scenes of the band rehearsing were enjoyable to watch, especially seeing the formation of some iconic songs. Though each performer did as much as they could with the material they had, I feel as though these three performers were underused to an extent and I would’ve loved to have seen their characters with more depth. Buddy’s separation from the rest of the group was only acknowledged as a short mention in the second act, whereas other productions may have delved into this more deeply as a key moment in both the show and Buddy’s career. Christopher Chandler and Miguel Angel shone during the second act as The Big Bopper and Richie Valens, respectively during the concert in Clear Lake.

The costume design seamlessly conveys the time period of the late 1950s, and the set is well designed to utilise the space onstage, and most changes of location are shown through a simple movement of props or change in lighting.

Though Buddy’s life was short, it was a whirlwind of talent and success. The pacing of the first act conveys this seamlessly and the plot flows easily, interspersed with many of Holly’s iconic hits that led to his meteoric rise to fame. However, the second act falls flat by comparison- the first part of the act focusses on Buddy’s marriage to Maria Elena (Daniella Agredo Piper), but this relationship is explored in no real depth. The plot briefly touched on what appeared to be Holly’s mother’s disapproval of the marriage, but this was explored no further. The last half an hour of the show became more of a tribute act performance than a musical, and I feel that this happened at the expense of developing many of the characters and plots within the show. Furthermore, the audience are left with no time to reflect on the announcement of Buddy’s death before the cast bound back onstage for a joyous finale. This emotional whiplash meant that the moment lost some of its poignancy in favour of performing even more of Buddy’s greatest hits.

As a whole, Buddy is a thrilling and entertaining night out for all generations. Though the majority of the audience appeared to be those who had grown up with his music, there was also a large proportion of younger attendees too, highlighting that in our current theatre climate with dozens of jukebox musicals to choose from, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story still holds its own.