BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY, national touring production, Theater League of Utah; Kingsbury Hall, U. campus; continues through March 12. Evening performances at 8 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday, and 7 p.m. on Sunday; matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. All seats reserved. Tickets range from $30 to $45 on Friday and Saturday evenings, and $25 to $52.50 for all other performances. Tickets available through ArtTix outlets or by calling 355-2787 or 1-888-451-2787. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (one intermission).
In the opening moments of "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," the young Lubbock, Texas, performer sends shock waves through the KDAV studio when he suddenly switches from country-western into "Ready Teddy" during the radio station's "Sunday Party" broadcast.
An irate DJ (and, ultimately, a strong Buddy Holly supporter), Hipockets Duncan (Christopher Bloch), tells Buddy pointedly that "no sponsor from here to Nashville is going to pay for that kind of music!"
That's January 1956.
Three years — and nearly 30 songs later — Buddy proves that he was right all along, sticking stubbornly to do his music his way.
Buddy is portrayed in this high-energy touring production by the talented — and seemingly tireless — Van Zeiler. The tumultuous standing ovation he got at the end of the opening night performance was well-deserved.
This show is part rockfest, part theater. OK, so it's mostly rockfest. Vignettes, linked by one great song after another, with various radio DJs providing ongoing updates, tell how Buddy and the Crickets (bass player Joe Mauldin, played by Steve Friday, and spunky drummer Jerry Allison, played by Fred Berman) launched their band in the early days of rock 'n' roll.
The second act focuses on how Holly met his wife-to-be, Maria Elena Santiago (Victoria Stilwell, who is also married to Van Zeiler in real life).
The show is built mainly around two major concerts — one on Aug. 6, 1957, when, due to a promoter who mistakenly thought they were a black band, booked them into Harlem's legendary Apollo Theatre, and the fateful appearance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, on Feb. 2, 1959, when he was part of a bill that included J.P. Richardson ("The Big Bopper"), played by Travis Turpin, and Ritchie Valens, played by Rob Langeder.
The replication of this concert is the show's big finale, leading up to the infamous Day the Music Died — the early morning plane crash on Feb. 3 that killed all three of the concert's headliners. In the waning moments of "Rave On," the stage fades to black, the curtain drops and the spotlight focuses on a guitar and microphone.
But a couple of encore numbers, including "Johnny B. Goode," make it clear that while a gifted talent was silenced that stormy February morning, Buddy Holly left a legacy that has inspired countless other artists.
One thing's certain — this is not a musical where you'll complain about not hearing any songs you can hum on your way out of the theater. You'll be humming, singing and dancing in the aisles.