Dean Elliott as Buddy
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Review Round-up: Is It Still Buddy Brilliant Or Not?

Buddy, the musical tribute to the late, great rock ‘n’ roll singer Buddy Holly, returned to the West End last week after a five-year absence, opening at the Duchess Theatre on 7 August (See 1st Night Photos, 8 Aug 2007). The show features many of Holly’s greatest hits which are used to tell the story of his life leading up to the moment of his death.

Co-written by Alan Janes (who also produces) and Rob Bettinson (who also directs), the production is designed by Adrian Rees, with John Banister acting as musical director. The lead role of Buddy is alternated between Dean Elliott and Matthew Wycliffe (who performed at the press performance). The cast also features Greg Last, Nick Sayce, Lee Ormsby, Miguel Angel, Sean Needham and Lucia Rovardi.

Buddy premiered at the West End's Victoria Palace on 12 October 12 1989, before transferring on 6 October 1995 to the Strand Theatre (now the Novello), round the corner from the Duchess on the Aldwych. It finished there on 3 March 2002 and has since continued to tour nationally and internationally. The Duchess is the show’s third West End home.

Critics might not be the biggest Buddy Holly fans in the world - and most felt this show is more suited to those who are – the “big” and “bold performances on offer here, notably that of Matthew Wycliffe as Buddy, succeeded in generating enough energetic goodwill to leave at least a few of them with a “smile” on their faces. Meanwhile, the “sillier bits” of Holly’s final performance, inviting audience participation, caused others to frown. Nevertheless, most recognised that, despite minimal drama, lack of character development and jukebox saturation, the popular and the party atmosphere still has audience appeal.

Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph - “The show that I have somehow missed in its previous incarnations proves ludicrously enjoyable … Though the biodrama about the bespectacled pop genius from Lubbock, Texas is a touch plodding at times, it tells his story efficiently enough, while also evocatively capturing the feel of 1950s America. Buddy actually addresses his first redneck record producer as Sir, without a flicker of irony, while the scene in which he and the Crickets play the Harlem Apollo wittily but also touchingly conveys the role pop music has played in breaking down racial barriers. But you don't come to shows like this for dialogue or ideas. You come for the hits, and Holly's back catalogue - awesome if anyone had produced it, downright miraculous in someone who died at the age of 22 - remains an utter joy … As ‘Peggy Sue’, ‘That'll Be the Day’, ‘True Love Ways’ and ‘Rave On’ receive splendid performances from a young and talented cast of actor-instrumentalists, one enters a lost age of innocence and pleasure … Matthew Wycliffe was playing Holly on the night I saw the show, singing almost identically to the great man, beautifully recreating those thrilling little guitar solos on his Fender Stratocaster and suggesting both the charm and the artistic steel of his character … Buddy Holly's magnificent music undoubtedly ensures that you leave with a smile on your face and a spring in your step.”

- by Tom Atkins

Related Content

Booking Tickets & Show Listings
	Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story Listing Page

Internal Links
	Buddy - 8th Aug 2007 reviews