Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (@TheArtsClub)

As I was growing up, I learned the story of Ritchie Valens (Ricardo Valenzuela) for obvious reasons (of Mexican descent, Ritchie popularized “La Bamba”, a Mexican song that is originally from Veracruz, but that Valens remixed to a rock-and-roll kind of beat), but I’ll be fully honest in admitting that I had no clue who Buddy Holly was. For those who are as misinformed as I was, Buddy Holly died in the same plane crash that took Valens’ life. But his claim to fame was much larger than that. Buddy Holly was considered a big influence in Rock and Roll development.

I was invited to the opening night of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, staged by The Arts Club at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, and I brought my friend Trevor Boudreau along with me. He loves musicals (perhaps just as much or even more than I do), so I figured it’d be a great show to see together. I did not know what to expect because, normally, I go into the musicals without reading any previews nor reviews. I prefer to give them my own acid test. Whenever I attend musicals on opening night, I am prepared to see mishaps and little mistakes. I’m a stage actor, I can see those errors even when others don’t notice. I didn’t see a glitch.

The story of Buddy Holly, who goes from dorky musician who reluctantly sang country songs while he had his heart set on rock and roll to all-American superstar, is both heartwarming, poignant and light-hearted. Told with a happy musical tone throughout the show, and inundated with loads of musical numbers, the story of Buddy Holly managed to capture not only my imagination but, I believe, that of the whole theatre. Zachary Stevenson’s rock and roll songs, his band The Crickets and the amazing supporting cast brought down the house, encouraging theatre goers to dance on their seats and in the corridors. At various points throughout the show, actors crossed the fourth plane, something I found rather endearing.

I have one word of warning for all potential attendees, in particular, those of you who might be a bit uptight when it comes to performances. This is a performance where viewers are ENCOURAGED to sing along, dance in their seats and/or manifest a substantial amount of excitement. So, if you’re not into that, you might want to loosen up before buying your tickets. I had an individual sitting behind me be incredibly rude with me because I was dancing in my seat and enjoying the performance. My friend Trevor told the rude man that he could have chosen more polite ways to complain (although this individual never admitted he was in the wrong). As a matter of fact, the program DOES indicate that people with potential complaints should talk to the manager or an usher, never contact the person they might want to complain about themselves.

The audience enjoyed the performance so much that they gave the entire cast a standing ovation MUCH sooner than the end of the last song. By the time we were in the middle of the last musical number, the entire theatre was dancing in their seats. I kid you not. Zachary Stevenson himself had to stay put for 3 minutes waiting for the public to stop clapping their hands enthusiastically.

Buddy will be playing until July 11th at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, and I suggest you attend. I’ll be doing a redux attendance later next week. Thanks to The Arts Club for always putting together such amazing shows, and for the continued support they’ve shown me throughout my blogging career.