Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story – Darlington Hippodrome

Writer: Alan Janes  

Director: Matt Salisbury 

These days it seems that every other show that crops up is a jukebox musical (i.e. a show with a narrative and featuring the repertoire of a particular musical act). With MJ the Musical being one of the more recent ones, and Mamma Mia! definitely being one of the most famous ones, it’s interesting to see one of the original ones in the form of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story which debuted in 1989. Buddy wasn’t the first jukebox musical but it was the first to be a monster hit, and it subsequently created a template that many have followed since.  

Unfortunately for Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, there isn’t much story to tell considering that Holly tragically died in 1959 at the age of 22. However, within his short career he recorded three albums, had over a dozen chart singles, did a partial world tour, split with his band The Crickets, and became a massively influential figure with the world of rock and roll.    

Even with such a sadly short life, this musical still rattles through the story to concentrate almost entirely on the music – and a very wise choice this is. The first half of act one shows Holly and The Crickets move from local country and western singers to a recording gig at Decca that goes wrong when Holly insists that rock and roll is the way. They then meet up with producer Norman Petty who gets them and their music into the public eye. The rest of act one is a sort-of recreation of their appearance at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, historically significant as they were the first all-white act to perform there. This allows for a showy performance of not only some of Holly’s biggest hits such as Peggy Sue and Oh Boy, but also allows other acts to appear to perform hits of the day Shout and Reet Petite.  

Act Two follows the same format as the first with even less focus on story and a lot more on performance. Here we see Holly’s whirlwind romance and subsequent marriage to Maria Elena Santiago, and his split with The Crickets. Then we move to The Surf Ballroom in Clearlake, Iowa, and it’s here that show really takes off as Holly, along with Richie Valens and The Big Bopper, sing up a storm in a whirlwind of toe-tapping hits that had the entire audience dancing along. Immediately following that performance, all three performers boarded a small plane which crashed, killing them all, and this show does a good job of highlighting the tragedy of this before bringing everyone back for a rousing finale

AJ Jenks brilliantly portrays Buddy with amazing guitar playing and a pitch-perfect vocal representation of Holly’s unmistakable voice. The script does not offer much to flesh out any of the characters, but Jenks does his best to remain charming and likable even when the character’s determination and drive sometimes make him out as a bit of a jerk. One of the quieter moments where Holly serenades his new wife Maria Elena (Marta Miranda) is as much of a showstopper as when he belts out Rave On or Johnny B Goode.  

Apart from Jenks, the remaining ten performers in the cast play at least two, and often more, characters throughout the night. With most of them playing musical instruments and all of them singing fantastically, the drama scenes tend to be the weakest, although the libretto offers little for anyone to shine with and, as previously stated, the show is more interested in the music. Standouts are Holly’s two fellow performers at the fateful Surf Ballroom show: Miguel Angel is an energetic Richie Valens, and Joshua Barton is clearly having a ball as the larger than life Big Bopper.

Although quite small in scale compared to some subsequent similar shows, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story does not show its age and is as fresh and fun as it was back in ‘89. The backstage scenes do tend to drag, but when we are treated to recreations of Holly’s shows, and particularly with the last two-thirds of act two taking place at The Surf Ballroom, the show delivers unparalleled levels of nostalgic entertainment that will deliver big smiles and dancing feet to audience members of all ages. Rave on! 

Runs until 21st March 2026