If you want to rave on then get yourself down to Waterside Theatre Aylesbury for The Buddy Holly Story this week. This show has the feel-good factor in massive amounts. The Buddy Holly Story is a show about the life of Buddy Holly. Buddy started his career on a country radio show but couldn’t just play country as he loved rock n roll. Even when he was discovered, Buddy stood his ground. He insisted on playing his music his way and on wearing his glasses on stage, which became his trademark.
You forget how many amazing hits Buddy Holly has and this show is a fantastic reminder of those wonderful tunes. It includes That’ll Be The Day, Rave On, True Love Ways, Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue Got Married, EveryDay, Maybe Baby, Not Fade Away, Raining In My Heart, Brown-Eyed Handsome Man, Words Of Love and It’s So Easy. We were also treated to Big Bopper’s Chantilly Lace and Ritchie Valens’ La Bamba. The last show before that fatal crash was truly fabulous and were all having a great time when suddenly the music is suddenly cut short and a spotlight is just on Buddy’s guitar. However, his music lives on and we get a fabulous encore which has the audience singing and dancing in the aisles.
The lead role of Buddy Holly is shared but tonight was played by Christopher Weeks. He gave Buddy a determined but gentle approach and that made Buddy very likeable. You warmed to his character and I especially enjoyed his chat up line. I loved that even as Christopher was saying goodbye to his Aylesbury audience, he gave us the message of driving home safely (cause it’s a blizzard out there) and to eat properly, all done in character. I loved that so much. It felt like something Buddy would do.
I want to mention Joe Butcher who plays Joe B Mauldin. He was all over that huge bass, dancing with it, throwing it around, and allowing Buddy to jump and stand on it. Just such a great energy that I loved. All the cast were exceptional; such a wealth of talent on stage. They played their own instruments and looked like they were really enjoying themselves which is contagious for the audience. The end of the first act is fantastic where we are transported to the Apollo Theatre in Harlem to see Buddy Holly and the Crickets who were the first white act to play there. Truly ground-breaking. I loved the Reet Petite performance by Miguel Angel who had the audience singing along. Miguel also plays Ritchie Valens later on in the show and is equally good in that part. His La Bamba is worth the ticket price alone!
This is a phenomenal feel-good show. You are guaranteed a rock n roll of a good time!
The Buddy Holly Story is playing at Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury until 13 May 2023.
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