Undeniably appealing: Drury Lane’s ‘Buddy — The Buddy Holly Story’ will have you tapping your toes
There’s nothing like early rock ’n’ roll to put a smile on audience members’ faces and set their feet to tapping. Case in point: “Buddy — The Buddy Holly Story,” the undeniably appealing jukebox bio-musical running through Oct. 18 at Drury Lane Theatre.
Dominated by Holly classics “That’ll Be The Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “Oh Boy” and “Everyday” — buoyant tunes with catchy riffs and infectious beats — the 27-song score also includes hits by Chuck Berry, J.P. Richardson, Ritchie Valens and the Isley Brothers.
They’re performed by an onstage quartet featuring Joey Chelius making his Drury Lane debut as Buddy Holly. A lanky, likable actor/musician, Chelius possesses folksy charm and plays a fierce guitar.
Accompanying Chelius’ Buddy Holly are The Crickets: a lean trio made up of drummer Jerry Allison (Alek Boggio), bassist Joe Mauldin (Grant Alexander Brown) and guitarist Niki Sullivan (Eliot Coe Esquivel, who doubles as Ritchie Valens).
The musical (the book is by Alan Janes) unfolds as a memory play narrated by a DJ named Hipockets Duncan (Russell Mernagh, who does yeoman’s work in multiple roles). It opens Feb. 3, 1959, the day the 22-year-old Holly died in a plane crash along with the teenage Valens, J.P. Richardson “The Big Bopper” and pilot Roger Peterson. The narrative then flashes back three years to chronicle Holly’s brief but impactful career beginning with his early days in Lubbock, Texas, where his insistence on playing his music his way — a recurring theme — earns both fans and detractors. Success, romance and marriage follow (Samantha Sayah plays Holly’s wife, Maria Elena) and the show concludes with his final concert (which makes up most of the second act) at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.
Janes provides only a cursory examination of Holly’s life and career, skimming over his recording studio innovations (which included overdubbing), his split with The Crickets and his creative/financial conflicts with his record labels and producers.
Rounding out director Matthew D. Carney’s surprisingly small (eight actor/musicians in total) but musically mighty cast are Marta Bady as Marlena Madison and Eric A. Lewis as Tyrone Jones — fictionalized Apollo Theater headliners and emcees who deliver a roof-raising rendition of “Shout.”
As bio-tuners go, “Buddy” is serviceable but not especially illuminating. No matter. The show’s audience appeal rests with its concert-style presentation (think tribute act with dialogue) and in that respect, Carney and company deliver.
Chelius channels Holly's vocal stylings, hiccups and all, as evidenced by the charming “Everyday.” He’s accompanied by Sayah on the celestial-sounding celesta, a type of piano, which composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky introduced in “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” from his 1892 ballet “The Nutcracker.”
Other highlights from Carney’s good-humored production include nicely jittery versions of “Ready Teddy” and “Peggy Sue” and a winning first-act finale in “Oh Boy.” Sullivan's hip-swiveling performance of Valens’ “La Bamba” had two young girls literally dancing in the aisle, while the one-two punch finale consisting of Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and a reprise of Holly’s “Oh Boy” brought audience members to their feet, then sent them home with smiles on their faces and a spring in their steps.
•••
“Buddy — The Buddy Holly Story”
3 stars
Location: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, (630) 530-0111, drurylanetheatre.com
Showtimes: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday; 1:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday; 7 p.m. Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday, through Oct. 18
Tickets: $85-$150; dinner-theater packages available
Running time: About 2 hours, 10 minutes with intermission
Parking: Free in the adjacent lot
Rating: For most audiences