Buddy Bids ‘Bye ‘Bye – March 2002

Buddy, the long-running bio-musical about the late, great rock ‘n’ roll
singer Buddy Holly who died in a plane crash, aged 21, is to close at the
Strand Theatre after a run of nearly twelve-and-a-half years on March 3,
2002. It was originally booking to May 18, 2002.

The show, which premiered at the Victoria Palace on October 12, 1989, before
transferring to the Strand Theatre where it re-opened on October 6, 1995,
recently officially celebrated its 5,000th performance in London.

Scripted by Alan Janes and directed by Rob Bettinson, the same team went on
to produce another bio-musical, Jolson, that took Buddy‘s place at
the Victoria Palace with Brian Conley in the title role, but ran for only a
short time.

Buddy, on the other hand, has been a worldwide success, playing in
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Hamburg, Holland, Sweden and South
Africa. While it has also toured successfully in the US, a Broadway run at
the Shubert Theatre in 1995 was a flop.

In London, it is said to have played to over 7million people and taken in
excess of £100,000,000. After it closes here, it will embark on a European
tour in Denmark in September 2002, before returning to the UK for a national
tour here in January 2003. It is also set to re-open in Australia in January
2002.

The title role is currently being played by Gus MacGregor, who was nominated
for a Laurence Olivier Award last year in the category Best Actor in a
Musical. Also in the show are George Ritchie as Richie Valens and Simon
Rawlings as the Big Bopper.

– Mark Shenton