Review: 'Buddy Holly Story' A Rockin' Good Time At Ford Theater
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
WABASH – The music of rock ’n’ roll legend Buddy Holly was alive and well Sunday at the Ford Theater in the Honeywell Center, Wabash, when the Broadway musical “Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story” took the stage. It covered the 18 months of Holly’s rise to fame, his struggle to make music his way and his relationships with his bandmates and wife. But it also featured a lot of his music in an assortment of ways that really showed what talents Holly had. The end of the production took the audience to Holly’s last concert in Clear Lake, Iowa, before he, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash in 1959. There was so much energy on that stage for the last five or six songs that the audience was moving to the music, clapping and sometimes singing along. A lot of the credit for the fun-filled, well-done show goes to Todd Meredith, who plays Holly. First, Meredith had Holly’s looks and mannerisms down. Second, Meredith really enjoyed performing and audiences could easily see that in every song he uttered and every move he made. According to Meredith’s bio in the program, the musical is his 17th production as the title character of Holly. He is currently a member of Holly tribute band The Rave-Ons, and has created two tribute shows featuring the band. He also has released a Holly tribute CD titled “Rock, Rhythm & Blues.” Obviously, Meredith knows a lot about Holly and his work, and that definitely showed on the stage Sunday. If they were to make another movie about Holly, Meredith should play the lead. “Buddy, the Buddy Holly Story” isn’t a one-man show, and the supporting actors gave 110 percent to make the production as exciting as it was. Jerry Allison (Logan Farine) was the Crickets’ drummer, while Joe B. Mauldin (Zach Sicherman) played the guitar. The two men not only played their instruments well, but they also brought some laughs to the musical revue. It’s unfortunate that the Crickets and Holly went their separate ways before Holly’s death, but the actors playing the real-life men seemed to be enjoying the show as much as Meredith. A reason the Crickets and Holly went their separate ways may have been in part due to Holly falling in love and marrying Maria Elena (Jenny Stodd). As played by Stodd in this showed, she was a fiery, outspoken woman who would not take ridicule from other people. Stodd nailed her performance beautifully. One of Holly’s earliest supporters and managers was Hi-Pockets Duncan, played realistically by Martin Murray. Duncan was a radio disc jockey that tried to get Holly to do country, but even after Holly went for rock, Duncan continued supporting his friend. After Duncan, Holly and his band recorded for Norman and Vi Petty (Nathan Yates Douglass and MaryAnn DiPietro). Vi could rock the piano, even though she came across as someone’s uptight mother. Norman was a perfectionist who probably caused a bit of the rift between Holly and the boys. As Valens, Eddie Maldonado sang and danced perfectly, while Mike Brennan as the Big Bopper really came across as the singer so well that it was uncanny. There were over two dozen songs featured in this retelling of Holly’s story, but not all of them were played fully. The ones the audience seemed to eat up were the ones played live beginning to end. “Peggy Sue” stuck in my head long after the show was over, while “Rave On” had my feet tapping as the final song. The show didn’t end just yet as the audience demanded an encore, which was happily provided with the classic rock song “Johnny B Goode.” I have seen productions of “Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story” before, but this one rocked the stage more than any other. It was a high-energy, fun story of a man who did things his way. He might not have lived to see his impact on music, but it lives on to this day.
