‘Buddy’ does not disappoint as Tuacahn hits this one out of the park
I had the chance to go see "Buddy: The Buddy holly Story" the other day. It was phenomenal.
Let me start by saying that I'm not what you would calla "play" guy. I'm not trying to be macho or anything, I just don't love sitting for 2-3 hours watching plays. I'd rather be doing something.
That being said, I recognize the hard work and incredible talent involved with putting on a production like "Buddy."
A year ago, "Million-Dollar Quartet," was at Tuacahn's Hafen Theater (indoor and air conditioned!) and it introduced me to a new kind of play. Like "Buddy," that play featured a whole lot of music and a little bit of talking in between songs. And not just musical-type music -- rock 'n' roll!
There was just enough talking in 'Buddy' and 'Quartet' to make the story work, but mostly it was a lot of concert-style guitar and rock.
The casting for 'Buddy' must have been difficult. Yes, you needed good actors, but they also had to be able to sing, play instruments and put on a show.
They needed to be able to ROCK!
But somehow, they pulled it off. While not as amazing as last year's uber-talented 'Quartet' cast (especially the Jerry Lee Lewis character played by Gabe Aronson), these guys were pretty impressive in their own right.
Andrew Harvey plays the title role in the 'Buddy' play and the dude nails it. I'm just young enough that I didn't ever see or hear Buddy Holly, but to me Harvey is Buddy Holly.
His acting was believable. But his rocking was perfect. He sang, strummed and wiggled his way to rocktastic proportions. I even thought his curly locks of hair were his own (they aren't, he's mostly bald in real life).
His relationship with the other two members of his band (The Crickets), was believable and the guys had great chemistry, especially when the music was on. Crickets Joe Maudlin (bassist played by Roy Brown) and Jerry Allison (drummer played by Ken Sandberg) were fun to watch. Brown was a hilarious sideshow with the way he manipulated his upright bass.
I guess what I'm ultimately saying is that even though I'm not a "play" guy, I'd go to a lifetime of these types of plays. Like "Million-Dollar Quartet" last year, "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" is a rock concert disguised as a play and I loved every minute of it.
Oh, and by the way, (spoiler alert), I was shocked at how many people at the play didn't know that Holly, Big Bopper and Richie Valens all died in a plane crash at the end of the play, especially considering that fact is disclosed in the play's description on Tuachan's own website.
The audible gasp in the theater was a surprise to me. I really believed it was common knowledge. They even wrote a song about it.