Buddy! the Buddy Holly Story is an entertaining musical loosely based on the short (but influential) career of Buddy Holly, who is arguably one of the most influential performers in early rock ‘n roll (after Elvis Presley).
I’m no music historian, but Buddy! struck me as a very simplistic view at the life of any human being. The musical paints him as a charismatic and naive kid who stubbornly but charmingly propels himself through trouble to stardom. He seems to drift on a current of luck from being fired by his first manager at a country station through obtaining a valuable recording contract and overcoming race concerns to win the hand of the woman he intended to marry.
Naturally, this luck has to be paid for, but more on that later.
Despite this very simplistic plot, I really enjoyed the way the story was framed. Billy’s first manager Hi-Pockets is a radio DJ, who chronicles Buddy’s story through his broadcasts. I found this technique to be very engaging and helped transition between scenes without breaking suspension of disbelief.
The lighting and staging at the Lyric Theatre was dynamic, allowing for quick changes of scene location, and entrances and exits through different parts of the scene. That “back of house” guy in me was quite appreciative of the work done by the technical directors.
The first act is where all the plot resides. The second act is a quick setup, and then launches into a long rock ‘n roll concert featuring the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. Naturally, this is the infamous Winter Dance Party in Clear Lake, Iowa, where the three of them performed together. The act is filled with as many musical numbers that they can pack in. There’s a fair amount of audience participation, so it’s a good opportunity to stand up, clap your hands and sing along.
It was definitely hard to avoid singing along. If you’re like me and had all those golden oldies poured into you by your parents from an early age, they’ll all come flooding back. There are a lot of musical numbers, and they were pretty much all familiar. I really had a good time (perhaps a little despite myself).
Even so, the second does seem to drag after a while. I wonder if perhaps there could have been a little more plot and a (little) less music in the second act. Maybe some more backstage dialogue?
Of course, this all culminates in the infamous plane crash that Don Maclean later proclaims as the Day the Music Died. I suppose there was a little irony in that I saw Buddy! about a week after the 50th anniversary of the crash.
If you’re in Sydney, Buddy! is playing through to the end of March at the Lyric Theatre. I recommend going for some light entertainment and good fun music.
In closing, I found it interesting to note that while many songs are about the common theme of falling in love, I don’t find it that cheesy. Maybe it’s just nostalgia, or maybe it’s because love music from that period is more than just the latest dribble churned out by a music label’s writer.