One of most exaggerated clichÈs theaters use in marketing is the claim that audiences are "dancing in the aisles" at every performance. While that's a slight overstatement of the audience's reaction at Welk Resort Theatre's "Buddy, the Buddy Holly Story," it's mighty darn close.
Roaring cheers, foot-pounding, shimmying in their seats and an immediate standing ovation welcomed the hard-working cast of this well-performed rock 'n' roll musical on opening night last weekend. It's the most enthusiastic reaction I've ever seen for a show at the Welk, and a good sign that this musical will become one of the summer's hottest tickets for audiences of all ages.
"Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story" is a musical biography of the geeky Texan who revolutionized rock 'n' roll, spun out dozens of hits and influenced a generation of young musicians (including The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan) in a brief career cut short by his death at age 22 in a plane crash in 1959.
The musical's book by Alan James and Rob Bettinson -- covering the three years between Holly's discovery at a Lubbock radio station, his meteoric rise to fame and his death -- is its weakest element, being both simplistic and not entirely accurate. A great deal of time is spent on how some of Holly's most-beloved songs came together (like "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue") but it never explains why Holly's sound was so revolutionary (he was the one of the first recording artists to harmonize electric guitars, overdub vocals and capture the raw, unpolished sound of a live rock performance on tape).
The first half of the musical is mostly spent in recording studios and many of these repetitive scenes drag. The studio wasn't what Holly was really about. It was his raw, electric and high-energy live shows that made Holly (real name: Charles Holley) a legend -- and the musical's thin book is merely a setup for the show's thrilling, well-performed concert scenes.
The second, and better, half of the show is mostly live concert re-creations, directed with great energy by Steve Gunderson and Javier Velasco (who also choreographs). First, Buddy Holly and the Crickets win over a skeptical black crowd at Harlem's Apollo Theatre with "Oh Boy" and "Not Fade Away." And the big-cast finale re-creates the infamous "Winter Dance Party" concert on Feb. 3, 1959, in Clear Lake, Iowa.
Just hours after performing that evening with tourmates J.T. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and 17-year-old Ritchie Valens, all three boarded a small charter plane for Fargo, N.D., that crashed seconds after takeoff, killing everyone aboard. So, there's a sense of sad foreboding and drama during this jubilant concert scene in knowing that these vivacious spirits will soon be tragically snuffed out.
Obviously, making a musical like "Buddy, the Buddy Holly Story" sing requires a great cast, and Welk has one, led by buoyant young singer/guitarist Brendan Robert Murphy as Holly. Murphy isn't Holly's perfect twin -- he's better looking, has a sweeter, more pleasing voice than Holly's distinctive hiccupy yodel and he's not nearly the guitarist. But he's got Holly's energy, audacious pluck, enthusiasm and a charismatic concert presence.
Sharing the credit for the show's success are his onstage bandmates -- all veterans of numerous "Buddy" productions -- David Schulz as drummer Jerry Allison, Luke Darnell as bassist Joe B. Mauldin and Jim Mooney as guitarist Tommy Allsup.
Schulz -- who grew up in Encinitas (in his mother Ann Schulz's Coast Kids Theatre, plus he's the former artistic director of Oceanside's Star Theatre) -- has a warm, likable stage demeanor and is a gifted drummer (keeping time on everything from staplers to the cardboard box used in the original 1957 recording of "Everyday." Darnell's a handsome and agile bassist, climbing up, under, around and on top of his big instrument while never missing a note. And Mooney not only looks exactly like a '50s musician, he's an incredible rock guitarist.
Two other standouts are Scott Free, who gives a spirited and uncanny sound-alike performance as the Big Bopper, singing "Chantilly Lace," and Steve Limones as Valens singing "La Bamba."
Briona Daugherty is gentle and understated as Holly's wife, Maria, a record company secretary he proposed to just five hours after meeting her. Victor Hernandez does triple-duty as various record company executives, including Norman Petty, the perfectionist music producer from New Mexico who recorded many of Holly's greatest hits during marathon studio sessions.
And filling out the cast in multiple roles are Moria Angeline, Robert Bastron, Amy Biedel, Erica Fox, Michael Kelly, Tanja Lynne Lee, Jonas Neal, Kate Roth and Tyler Ruebensaal. And there's some pro support from a brass section made up of saxophonist/clarinetist Richard McGuane, trumpeter Dave Greeno and trombonist Bob Payne.
Nick Fouch created the simple but serviceable two-story set, and Patrick Hoyny designed the sound. Justin Gray serves as music director, Carlotta Malone designed costumes and Jennifer Edwards-Northover designed the lighting and is the stage manager. Sean Coogan is the executive producer.
The 100-minute musical is performed without intermission, so everything builds epically to the concert finale, which was extended on opening night with two encores, thanks to the audience's enthusiastic applause.
Not every musical out there is worth the ticket price, but Welk's "Buddy" is a show that delivers. From seniors to baby boomers to teens and even toddlers, the music appealed to everyone in the audience on opening night and the cast gives it everything they've got to ensure that nobody leaves unsatisfied.
