Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story Regent Theatre Review
Buddy
The Buddy Holly Story
Regent Theatre, Stoke
3-8 March 2014
Reviewed by Victoria Moore
The Regent Theatre in Stoke on Trent was easy to find with plenty of local parking. Clean, tidy and tastefully decorated with plenty of seated leg room. The ambience was inviting with welcome music in theme with the show, at a gentle yet appropriate level to allow guests to be seated and get comfy.
The show focuses on the namesake’s life story through the music industry, and for one week only Stoke on Trent will be lit up West End style.
Although the show may initially attract an older generation, the content and live music would entice a younger rock n roller as an admiration of musicians who can play their instruments well and follow crowd reaction spans generations. The Buddy Holly Story certainly delivers this, with songs that even a Buddy newbie would recognise such as: Peggy Sue, Johnny B. Goode, Why do fools fall in love, Chantilly Lace, Shout, Raining In My Heart, and La Bamba.
The show is packed with enjoyable music and is an easy to follow story that doesn’t require prior research for a fun evening.
Interval music and spontaneous dancing kept the flow and made even the studious theatre goer bop. Mirroring the real life tale, the comedy interactions between Buddy and the Crickets sadly faded into the second half, but the story progresses at a well paced speed through to a big concert which included the well known and loved tunes (the wonderful thing about live theatre is that you can tell when the crowd is behind the characters as the gentle murmur of the song lyrics spread across the auditorium in a way that only happens when everyone is in the moment together).
Superbly well timed crowd interaction and an atmosphere that made you feel like you were really at the Apollo in the rock and roll era, with supporting acts tactfully chosen to enhance the Buddy Holly songs which were executed well both with a full band and acoustically. Ingenious use of multi-level staging and spot light changes to show snippets from different radio stations and places across the States and world.
All in all the show is a light-hearted tale of a legendary musical talent and as would have been wished by Buddy, the show closed with hands, heads and hearts off their seats joining in and jiving.
Recommended for all generations and with only mild language it is family friendly and perfect for an introduction to the world of rock and roll.
Tickets cost from £12.90 to £31.40 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).
Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story is on from Monday 3– Saturday 8 March 2014 at The Regent Theatre. For more information or to book tickets call the Box Office on 0844 871 7649 or visit www.atgtickets/com/stoke.