Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (touring) ★★★★

Buddy Holly, of all things, epitomises what ‘a life well led’ means and sends a message to anyone that it’s not how long a life is, but what is experienced in it that makes the most difference.

Showing at Bradford’s Alhambra theatre this week, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is a joyous, uplifting and highly entertaining piece of theatre which buzzes with energy from start to finish and has the rock ‘n’ roll loving audience enraptured.

Buddy Holly’s roots were in country music, with his band the Crickets, and the show opens with him performing hits in a local radio station and having early ‘artistic differences’ with his record label – itching to play the more upbeat music that he knows to be his calling.

Breaking away then from Texas and the Southern tunes, he turns heads when he plays in Harlem and surprises the local audience, who had only previously heard his voice, by being white. This was an artist unafraid to be proudly himself.

At this performance, Buddy was played by Joe Sterling, whose fabulously consistent vocals never waver, even by the end when he has sung through what seems to be most of the artist’s songbook. This may be the flaw in the production, for whilst it is billed as The Buddy Holly Story, it might be more accurate to describe the assembled artists as a tribute act.

There are brief scenes when Buddy argues with his band, has phone calls with his overbearing mother and is recruited by a new manager, but otherwise the entire evening is given over to his music. The scene where he woos his wife-to-be – Maria Elena – enchantingly played by Marta Miranda – is a lovely comic interlude. However, like his courtship – Buddy proposed to Maria Elena after knowing her for just five hours – it is given scant time before the piece returns to the songs.

Happily, the ensemble is packed with wonderfully talented musicians, and Buddy Holly devotees will love this nostalgic trip. Special mention must be given to Miguel Angel, whose portrayal of Ritchie Valens is a joy, and to Joshua Barton – aka The Big Bopper – who injects an extra level of energy. The same must be said of Laura-Dene Perryman as Marlena Madison, who belts out some great numbers whilst keeping her dance moves flawlessly sharp.

Of course, there is no getting away from Buddy’s tragic end, and like a wedding ghost, it lurks in the shadows of the second act. But it is Buddy’s wonderful talent and music that audiences will remember, and this cast entirely does that justice.