Friday, June 14, 2013

Blogger Night at the Ordway: The Buddy Holly Story

It was finally a beautiful evening out this past Wednesday.  No rain. No cloudy skies. Perfect for a night at the theater. This time around it was all about Rock-n-Roll, Buddy Holly style. 

The Buddy Holly Story was a musical romp through the very short life of the pop singer; starting with his earlier days of doing country radio and breaking out with his rock-n-roll sound soon there after. It also included his struggles between him and his record labels, his urgency in doing the music he wanted to do and his whirlwind marriage to a record executive's niece.

The music was lively and I couldn't help but sing along. I am the youngest of five kids with parents that are now in their seventies. This was the music I grew up listening to. The "Day the Music Died" was well known in my household. I was the only kid in my neck of the woods who had a cassette tape of Richtie Valens. So listening to all this music was like going home.

My only issue with it was that there really wasn't a lot of substance to this show. His life, though tragic indeed from having ended so soon, wasn't an overly dramatic tale. I don't think  you need all that drama all the time to make a good story but it seemed that there were quite a few filler moments. The actors were overly hyped and overly expressive in most scenes and that got a little jarring but the musical performances were outstanding. Seriously lively, spot on and very fun to watch.

Overall, it was a fun show. I think for the nostalgic set, this would be a blast. But expect more of a concert rather than a in depth story of his life.

Playing now through June 16 at the Ordway. Click here for details.

Here is one of my favorite Buddy songs. That'll be the day

Happy Listening and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child


2 comments:

Tales of Whimsy said...

Great honest take. I hadn't heard of this one.

Lisa said...

Sounds like just a concert with these performers acting out the roles would have made for a better evening. Have you ever seen the movie about Buddy Holly with Gary Busey?