Grade: B+
Buddy Holly shocked the world with his then-radical style of music and set a pattern for generations of future musicians.
What shocked the world more was when Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash on Feb. 2, 1959, along with The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.
"It's great to be performing his music 40 years after for people today," said Michael Croiter, who played Jerry Allison, the drummer of the Crickets. "Every time we perform it's like we're paying homage to the man who influenced every generation."
As portrayed in the musical "Buddy," Holly is a stubborn young man who refuses to settle for anything less than exactly what he wants.
"I want to play music my way," said Holly, played by Erik Hayden. "Buddy Holly does things his way."
The show begins at a radio broadcast where Buddy Holly and the Crickets are playing for a country and western station. They start playing a mellow country tune then break into a rock 'n' roll song. The group is kicked out of the station.
Their sound soon proves entertaining, however, as the band is offered a recording contract with Decca Records, a country music label.
While recording, Holly stops production to tell the manager the sound was horrible and not what real music should be.
At that point Buddy Holly and the Crickets begin to play what would become a No. 1 hit, "That'll Be The Day," and the manager said it is the worst song he has ever heard.
He proceeds to bash the band, saying Holly is a no-talent who can't sing or play.
After getting another break in a different recording studio, Buddy Holly and the Crickets release "That'll Be The Day," which climbs the charts and stays at No. 1 for 23 weeks.
One of the band's first live appearances is in the Apollo Theatre in New York, where they are the first white band to play.
During this part of the musical, the actors become more like masters of ceremonies, encouraging audience participation. They treated the Emens Auditorium audience as if they were Apollo's crowd. This gave the show a unique twist.
It is also at this point, however, when the show almost stops being a play and is more like a concert 40 years overdue.
This proved to be appropriate, because much of the audience was older and probably grew up listening to Buddy Holly.
At the beginning of the second act, Holly walks into a recording office, flirts with receptionist Maria Elena and after only a few minutes says he is going to marry her.
That night, Elena and Holly go out dancing, and when he brings her home, he proposes and she accepts.
During the remainder of the musical, Holly's fame continues to grow and eventually the Crickets split up. Maria and Holly go to New York where Holly prepares for a tour with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. Maria begs Buddy not to go on the tour, saying she had a terrible dream of a big fireball in the sky.
Holly goes anyway and on Feb. 2, 1959, he is performing in Clear Lake, Iowa, with The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. After the concert, the trio sets out to arrange the rest of the tour. They never complete their flight that night.
At that point in the show, the curtain came down and Holly's guitar and a microphone was the only thing on stage. Sniffles and snobs emanated from the audience.
Once more, the curtain opened and Holly began playing with The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. The performance received a standing ovation from the audience of 2,000 people.
Holly's music lived on even after he died. The show proved that his life, like the show, was dominated by music.
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