''Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story'' is a musical in two acts written by Alan Janes, and featuring the music of

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

. It opened at London's

Victoria Palace Theatre The Victoria Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, opposite Victoria Station. The structure is categorised as a Grade II* listed building. History Origins The theatre began life as a small conc ...

on 12 October 1989. An early example of the

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known popular music songs, rather than original music. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs perf ...

, ''Buddy'' ran in London's West End for over 12 years, playing 5,140 performances. Janes took over the producing of the show himself in 2004, and ''Buddy'' has been on tour extensively in the UK since then, having played Broadway, five U.S. National Tours and numerous other productions around the world. The show was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Musical.

Development

A late-night fan-based conversation in a bar of the Montcalm Hotel in London's West End in 1988, between the theatrical agent Laurie Mansfield, film producer Greg Smith and writer/producer Janes, about

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

musician

, led Janes to develop and write Buddy. A year later, supported by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, who owned the copyright to Buddy Holly's music, the show had a try out at the

Theatre Royal, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Plymouth, is a theatre venue in Plymouth, Devon. It consists of a 1,300-seat main auditorium, The Lyric, which regularly hosts large-scale musicals, opera and ballet; a 200-seat studio, The Drum; and a 50-seat studio, The Lab. O ...

, before its transfer to London's

Victoria Palace The Victoria Palace () is a government building on the large Victory Square () in Bucharest, housing the Prime Minister of Romania and his cabinet. The Victory Palace was designed in 1937 to house the Foreign Ministry, and nearly complete in 1 ...

Productions

Original production

Janes worked with originating director Rob Bettinson, and originating musical director Paul Jury, to present the show for a three/week pre-London engagement in August 1989 at the

, with

Paul Hipp Paul Hipp (born July 16, 1963) is an American actor, singer, songwriter and filmmaker. Early life Paul Hipp was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Warminster. He left Pennsylvania for New York City immediately after high school, st ...

as Buddy Holly. The first shows were beset by technical problems as 26 actor/musicians played and acted their way through two and a half hours of drama and hi-octane rock 'n' roll concert. But regardless of the set crashes and technical mishaps, the audience would not let the cast leave the stage, demanding encore after encore until the cast had run out of songs to play.

West End productions

Buddy transferred to the

and opened on 12 October 1989. With audiences on their feet every night, structural engineers were called to the theatre to make sure the dress circle could take the weight as the structure bounced with the audience as they danced. Buddy transferred to the Novello Theatre, completing a total of 12 and a half years and 5,140 performances at the two theatres. In 2007,

Janes Janes is an English patronymic family name. Its root is believed to be from the possessive of the given name '' Jan'' (see ''Jayne''), '' John'' or ''Ian''. In England, the name appears to have its densest roots in Bedfordshire and Gloucestershi ...

brought the show back to the West End at the

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 sea ...

, where it played for a further 634 performances making it one of the longest-running musicals in London history. This revival ensured that the 50th Anniversary of Holly's death was celebrated on 3 February with a special performance incorporating several new numbers for that one night. The role of Buddy Holly was equally shared by Dean Elliott and Matthew Wycliffe, who played the role in the 2007 UK touring company.

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed ...

was played by Puerto Rican actor Miguel Angel, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) by actor Lee Ormsby. The 50th Anniversary Tour played concurrently across the UK and starred Oliver Seymour-Marsh and Glen Joseph as Buddy, with Chris Redmond and Dan Graham as the Crickets.

UK national tours

During the second year of the original production's long run, a UK national tour of ''Buddy'' began in June 1991 at the

. This was the first West End production to tour the UK while still playing in the West End; it set a new record of 243 weeks of continuous touring, or 4 years 35 weeks on the road. Buddy has continued to tour frequently in the UK.

Broadway production/US national tours

After a Toronto try-out and 15 previews, the Broadway production, also starring Hipp, opened on November 4, 1990, at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 225 performances.

Jill Hennessy Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is most known for her roles on the American television series ''Law & Order'', on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and ''Crossing ...

played a number of roles, including Holly's wife Maria Elena. The show has toured extensively throughout the US, starting with a 53-week tour in November 1991, and with the most recent 5th tour finishing in March 2016.

International and touring productions

''Buddy'' has been staged in more than 17 countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, UK and USA. Over 25 million people have seen the show worldwide. Buddy has had two major tours in Australia, the 1st tour played Sydney's Theatre Royal for 36 weeks before continuing throughout Australia for a further 60 weeks. The second Australian tour in 2009 ran for 39 weeks."Globetrotting World Tours"
Buddy Worldwide Limited, accessed 27 April 2020 In Germany, the Stage Theatre in Hamburg was built on land next to the river Elbe specifically for Buddy, where the show played for seven years between 1994 and 2001.

Characters

*Hipockets Duncan *

Joe B. Mauldin Joseph Benson Mauldin, Jr. (July 8, 1940 – February 7, 2015) was an American bass player, songwriter, and audio engineer who was best known as the bassist for the early rock and roll group the Crickets. Mauldin initially played a double (stand ...

* Jerry Allison *

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, radio station owner, and considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. Biography Petty was born in the small town of Clo ...

*Vi Petty *

Tommy Allsup Thomas Douglas Allsup (November 24, 1931 – January 11, 2017) was an American rockabilly and swing musician. Personal life Allsup was born near Owasso, Oklahoma in 1931, and was an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. Allsup had a son, ...

, the 'fourth Cricket' * Maria Elena Santiago *

The Big Bopper Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include " Chantilly Lace" and " White Lightning", the latter of w ...

Dion DiMucci Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known simply as Dion, is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues. Initially as the lead singer of Dion and t ...

* Niki Sullivan *Shirley, Peggy Sue, Mary Lou Sokoloff, Maria Elena's Aunt, Clear Lake MC, Decca Producer, Cindy, Murray Deutch, Jack Daw, Performers at the Apollo, DJs, sound engineers, session musicians, Hayriders, etc.

Synopsis

Performance at the White House for President Bush

Act I

The action takes place in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the nort ...

;

Clovis, New Mexico Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico. The city had a population of 37,775 as of the 2010 census, and a 2019 estimated population of 38,319. Clovis is located in the New Mexico portion of the Llano Estacado, in the ...

;

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Clear Lake, Iowa Clear Lake is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,687 at the 2020 census. The city is named for the large lake on which it is located. It is the home of a number of marinas, state parks and tourism-related ...

; between January 1956 and February 1959. With the support of local Lubbock Texas radio DJ, Hipockets Duncan, Buddy and his two friends form a Country & Western band – Buddy Holly & the Crickets – and begin to carve out a career in music. After a difficult start at

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

in Nashville, they sign a contract with up-and-coming, innovative record producer

who is based in Clovis, New Mexico. Within hours, Buddy Holly & the Crickets start to churn out hits from the recording studio built in Norman's backyard, among them "That'll Be The Day", which will rocket up the charts to number one in a matter of weeks. Buddy Holly & the Crickets are suddenly the hottest act in the country and out on national tour. Buddy and his band go to New York where they perform at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a ...

making history as the first white band to perform there.

Act II

While recording in New York, Buddy proposes to Maria Elena Santiago, the Puerto Rican receptionist of his music publisher after a courtship of all of five hours. Newly married and ambitious, he shifts focus to New York and a rift develops between him and the Crickets. After a declaration of home truths during a recording session, the band split and Buddy unexpectedly finds himself having to pursue a solo career. Buddy joins ''The Winter Dance Party'' of 1959, a bus tour through the Midwest quenching the teenage thirst for the "new music called Rock 'n' Roll" The tour is hard work, the weather conditions appalling and the performers are alternating between sleeping in the luggage racks and dropping into hospital to be treated for frostbite. The story ends on February 3, 1959, after a rocking concert with the " Big Bopper" J.P. Richardson and Ritchie Valens at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. Buddy makes the fateful decision to break his promise to his pregnant wife not to fly, as he and the other two headliners board a small plane and take off into the night destined for their next show. During a snow storm, in the dead of night, the plane crashes and spares no survivors.

Scenes

Act 1

* Grand Bowl, Lubbock, Texas * A Lubbock diner * Decca Recording Studios, Nashville * KDAV Radio Studio, Lubbock * NorVaJak Studios, Clovis, New Mexico * Apollo Theatre, Harlem, New York

Act 2

* Music Publisher's Office, New York * Central Park, New York * NorVaJak Studios, Clovis * Buddy & Maria Elena's Apartment, New York * Backstage Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, Iowa * Clear Lake Concert

Song list

Act I

*"Rose of Texas" (music and lyrics by Paul Jury) *"Flower of My Heart" (music and lyrics by Paul Jury) *"Rip It Up (UK version)" (music and lyrics by Robert Blackwell and John Marascalco) /"Ready Teddy (U.S. version)" (music and lyrics by Robert Blackwell and John Marascalco) *"Changing All Those Changes" (music and lyrics by Buddy Holly) *" That'll Be The Day" (music and lyrics by

, Jerry Allison, and Buddy Holly) *"Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (music and lyrics by

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

) *" Everyday" (music and lyrics by Charles Hardin (Buddy Holly) and Norman Petty) *" Shout" (UK tour) (music and lyrics by Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley) *"Good Time (U.S. version)" (music and lyrics by Paul Jury) *"Party" (music and lyrics by Paul Jury) *" Not Fade Away" (music and lyrics by Charles Hardin and Norman Petty) * Peggy Sue (music and lyrics by Norman Petty, Jerry Allison, and Buddy Holly) *"Words of Love" (music and lyrics by Buddy Holly) ;Act II *"Think It Over" (music and lyrics by Jerry Allison, Norman Petty, and Buddy Holly) *"True Love Ways" (music and lyrics by Norman Petty and Buddy Holly) *"Star Spangled Banner" *" Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (music and lyrics by

Frankie Lymon Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group Th ...

and

Morris Levy Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...

) *"

Chantilly Lace Chantilly lace is a handmade bobbin lace named after the city of Chantilly,"Chantilly" ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989. France, in a tradition dating from the 17th century. The famous silk laces were introduced in the 18th cent ...

" (music and lyrics by J. P. Richardson) *"Maybe Baby" (music and lyrics by Norman Petty and Buddy Holly) *"Peggy Sue Got Married" (music and lyrics by Buddy Holly) *"Heartbeat" (music and lyrics by Norman Petty and Bob Montgomery) *" La Bamba" (traditional, adapted by Ritchie Valens) *"

Raining in My Heart "Raining in My Heart" is a song recorded by Buddy Holly on October 21, 1958 at the Pythian Temple on West 70th Street in New York City, with the orchestral backing by Dick Jacobs. The music and lyrics are written by the songwriting team of Fel ...

" (music and lyrics by

Felice Bryant Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They were best ...

and

Boudleaux Bryant Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an Americans, American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They ...

) *"

It Doesn't Matter Anymore "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" is a pop ballad written by Paul Anka and recorded by Buddy Holly in 1958. The song was issued in January 1959, less than a month before Holly's death. "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" reached number 13 as a posthumous hit ...

" (music and lyrics by

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and "(You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...

) *" Rave On!" (music and lyrics by Norman Petty and Bill Tilghman) *" Johnny B. Goode" (music and lyrics by

) *"Oh, Boy!"

Cast list

References

External links

* *
Interview with Maria Elena Holly

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story 1989 musicals Biographical plays about musicians British musicals Broadway musicals Cultural depictions of Buddy Holly Jukebox musicals Plays set in the 1950s Plays set in the United States West End musicals