[NEohioPAL]Berko review: BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY (Carousel)

[Roy Berko]

‘BUDDY’ rocks the Carousel

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


If I didn’t know better, I’d assume Buddy Holly was
presently performing at Carousel Dinner Theatre...but
more about that later. 

The musical, 	‘BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY,’ which is
basically a rock concert overlaid with a biographic
story line, tells of the rise and tragic death of
rock-and-roll superstar Buddy Holly.   It was written
by Alan Janes and Rob Bettinson.

Holly was born Charles Holley in Lubbock, Texas.  He
had a love for music and was a local bluegrass
entertainer until 1955 when, after seeing Elvis
Presley sing, he turned to rock-and-roll.  After an
appearance on the same bill as Bill Haley & His
Comets, Holly was offered a contract with Decca
Records, who not only changed the spelling of his name
to “Holly” but tried to get him to return to his
bluegrass roots.  The young man, who once said, “Buddy
Holly does things his way,” refused and was dropped by
the record label.  

Shortly afterwards, Holly, drummer Jerry Allison, and
bass player Joe Mauldin formed the band “The
Crickets.”  They cut a record at a small studio in
Clovis, New Mexico, entitled, “That’ll Be the Day,”
and the rest is history.  Songs such as “Peggy Sue,”
“Everyday,” “Not Fade Away,” ”Oh Boy,” “Raining in My
Heart,” “Rave On” and “Johnny B Good” followed.

Holly's musical sounds and lyrics were quite
sophisticated for their day and led to his being a
primary force in the evolution of rock-and-roll.  He
bridged the gap between white and black rockers.  
Paul McCartney cited Holly as a primary influence on
the Beattles.  Even the band's name was later chosen
partly in homage to Holly's Crickets.  The Rolling
Stones also fell under the influence of Holly’s style.


In 1959, Holly split from the Crickets and began a
solo tour with other notable performers, including
Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson ("The Big Bopper").
Following the February 2 performance in Clear Lake,
Iowa, Buddy Holly chartered a small airplane to
transport Valens, Richardson and himself to their next
gig.  The plane crashed shortly after take-off, ending
Holly’s short but meteoric career.

The Carousel production, under the able direction of
Victoria Bussert, though a little long, is right on
target.  The show is generally well cast.  Steve
Parsons’ musical direction is tone right.  Paul
Black’s lighting and Russ Borski’s set all work to
enhance the production.

John Rochette, as drummer Jerry Allison, is a terrific
musician as is base player Tobia D’Amore (Joe
Mauldin).   Michael Busillo lights up the stage as the
hip wiggling Ritchie Valens and Ryan Dunkin does a
great enactment of the Big Bopper.   The musical
backups and character actors are all excellent.

The success of this production, however, depends
entirely on the believability of the actor playing
Holly.  And, fortunately, Canton born Pat McRoberts
doesn’t portray Holly, he lives Holly, he sings Holly,
he dances Holly and he musically is Holly.  McRoberts 
is Holly in every nuance.  This is an amazing
performance!  Repeat....THIS IS AN AMAZING
PERFORMANCE!

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Are you a rock-and-roll fan?  Do
you appreciate the music of Buddy Holly?  Do you like
a well put-together production?  If so, you’ll love
‘BUDDY:  THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY’ now on stage at
Carousel.  Even if you don’t love rock-and-roll, I
defy you not to wind up dancing in the aisles during
the curtain call.

For tickets  call 800-362-4100.  Show times are
Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Friday
and Saturday evenings at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday evenings
at 5 and Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2 P.M. 
Matinees are on Wednesday and Saturday at 2.  Dinner
is served two hours prior to curtain..


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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