Buddy Holly comes to life - New show at Marriott Lincolnshire a rockin’ good time
Kieran McCabe turns in a star performance playing Buddy Holly, whose meteoric rise up the charts in the late 1950s is still the stuff of legends.
“Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story” debuted June 28 to a sold-out theater at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort.
Thanks to the performance of McCabe – and all the other performers bringing their “A game” – you won’t be disappointed.
In three short years, Holly rose to stardom with the many hit songs he wrote and performed with his band, The Crickets.
In one of the first tragedies of rock music, his success was cut short by a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959, after a show at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.
While the early demise may have contributed to Holly’s staying power – think Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin – the music itself is powerful enough to have made a still-resounding impact.
For example, The Beatles have often said how Buddy Holly was a big influence on their music.
Need more proof? Think of the hits. “Peggy Sue,” Words of Love,” “Oh Boy,” “Maybe Baby” and “Rave On” still sound great decades later in this show and on the radio. Heck, The Rolling Stones opened their shows during a tour in the 1990s with Holly’s “Not Fade Away.”
One can’t help but wonder how many more great songs were never heard thanks to that unfortunate plane crash.
However, McCabe’s warm and engaging performance, coupled with his rockin’ voice and guitar playing, bring Holly to life in this very satisfying show.
During a reception after the show, I asked McCabe how he was able to channel Buddy Holly so easily. He thanked me and said: “I’ve been playing Buddy Holly’s music for five years with these guys.”
That half-decade of fine-tuning those rock ‘n’ roll masterpieces shows, as he seemingly effortlessly becomes Holly.
The story runs from January 1956 to February 1959. We first meet Holly & The Crickets when they dare to play rock music on a country and western radio show.
Thankfully, the radio host Hipockets Duncan – played in amusing fashion by David Stobbe who we later see as The Big Bopper – knows Holly has something going on and steers him in the right direction working with manager/producer Norman Petty (Alex Goodrich) who is able to put up with Holly’s perfectionism that leads to undeniable success.
Throughout the show, I was impressed by the musical skills of the performers. Holly & The Crickets are a good, tight band. It’s impossible to not get into the music as they play hit after hit.
The funniest moments are when the lily-white Holly & The Crickets are booked to perform at the famous Apollo Theater in New York’s Harlem community. Yes, the Apollo Theater which “Saturday Night Live” watchers may recall from perhaps 20 years ago when “Showtime At the Apollo” was featured on NBC right after “SNL.”
Just like then, the theater was filled with Black fans watching Black entertainers. So, the appearance of white boys from Texas comes as quite a shock to two Black performers played by Melanie Brezill and Marcus Terell, who eventually are won over, as is the audience.
The breezy story of Holly’s whirlwind romance with his eventual wife played by Molly Hernandez – he asked her to marry him five hours after they met – is enjoyable to watch.
Unfortunately, he break a promise to his bride and agrees to take that fateful plane ride on a snowy night in Iowa.
The sense of impending doom for the 22-year-old Holly is washed away with an exciting recreation of that final concert, featuring Ritchie Valens (Jordan Arredondo) and The Big Bopper. It’s thrilling stuff, sure to get you clapping and singing along. We hear their hit songs, too. It’s not all Holly’s music.
If you want to learn more about the roots of rock ‘n’ roll, perhaps looking to rekindle some old musical memories or simply want a fun night of live theater, head up to Marriott Lincolnshire.
