The Cape Playhouse presents ‘Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story’. Written by Alan Janes. Direction by Meredith McDonough. Music Direction by Matt Cusack. Choreography by Felicity Stiverson. Sets by Lex Liang. Costumes by Kathleen Geldard. Lights by Kat C. Zhou. Sound by Jeff Sherwood. At the Cape Playhouse, 820 Main Street, Route 6A, Dennis, MA, through June 21.
By Linda Chin
Each summer, thousands of theatergoers who flock to the Cape Playhouse, a converted 1790 meeting house in Dennis, MA, set on twenty-six peaceful and pristine acres off Route 6A, are transported to a simpler time and treated to a professional production amidst a beautiful backdrop of history and nature. With the musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story as the Playhouse’s 2025 season opener, patrons should anticipate being transported to the years 1956 to 1959 and educated about aspects of musical legend Buddy Holly’s life and career, bearing witness to rock ‘n’ roll history in the making and treated to the sounds of “chirping” Crickets performing over 20 of Holly’s hits.
For this jukebox musical, scenic designer Lex Liang has customized the Playhouse’s proscenium opening into a giant vinyl album that, from time to time, cleverly emanates circles of light like an LP spinning out tunes. This round frame provides focus to the action on stage, which includes scenes in Holly’s hometown of Lubbock, Texas (where he forms a band with his friends and performs on the local radio station KDAV); Clovis, New Mexico (where he signs on with producer Norman Petty, Vi Petty plays piano, and he and the Crickets literally rock around-the-clock and record hit-after-hit); New York City (where he meets Maria Elena Santiago, the receptionist at Peermusic and proposes to her five hours into their first date), and; Clear Lake, IA (where he performs as part of a tour and near where he is killed in a tragic plane crash at the age of 22). NYC-based Lighting Designer Kat C. Zhou (whose stellar work on theatrical productions at Harvard, BU, and Greater Boston professional stages I’ve followed for years, and that has earned her two Elliot Norton awards to date) artfully chooses colorsan – and changes their intensity – to set the mood, further engage the audience, and enhance the storytelling, notably in the poignant final scene that depicts the day of the plane crash, immortalized as “the day the music died” by Don McLean in his song “American Pie.” Sound by Jeff Sherwood – that could be a challenge in the intimate, but cavernous house and a show-breaker for many a musical theater production – was also first-rate. Zhou and Sherwood’s familiarity with the Playhouse (Waitress, and Million Dollar Quartet and tick,tick…BOOM!, respectively) is evident.
The subtitle The Buddy Holly Story is a bit of a misnomer because it offers but a brief biographical window into Holly’s life, and the characters in the generally weak script are underdeveloped. It is the music (which includes several fabulous fifties favorites in addition to Holly’s originals) and the quality of the musical performances that make this story special. In her Cape Playhouse debut, director Meredith McDonough brings the rich musical material to life with strong staging and excellent casting choices, led with the multi-talented Andy Christopher in the titular role. In addition to possessing strong vocal chops and physical characteristics (tall, lanky) that add to his pitch-perfect portrayal, Christopher’s bio reveals that he is a native Texan who learned to play the guitar by playing Lubbock bars with Buddy Holly’s nephew! Backing up Holly on lead guitar are his bandmates The Crickets, including bass player Joe B. Maudlin (Matt Cusack, also the production’s Music Director and the Big Bopper), and drummer Jerry Allison (born and raised on the Cape actor Jeffrey Thomas Kelly in his Cape Playhouse debut). Cusack is quite the showman, at times hoisting the bass overhead or playing it upside down and climbing on it (who knew that its curvy sides shaped like the number three includes a step? Not one to miss out on the fun, Christopher takes a turn at this too).
Completing the cast of ten, Christopher Alvarado (Ritchie Valens and others), David Bonanno (Norman Petty and others), Legna Cedillo (Maria Elena and others), Gian Raffaele DiCostanzo (Decca Producer, Tommy, and others), Ta’Nika Gibson (Marlena and others), Katie Horner (Vi Petty and others), and Isaiah Reynolds (Tyrone and others) each demonstrate their triple-threat talents and versatility by playing multiple featured and/or supporting and ensemble roles and/or playing musical instruments on stage. The number of roles these actors covered was impressive, but admittedly made some of the moments confusing (eg, the actor playing the pregnant wife Maria Elena was in the ensemble at Clear Lake)
The audience at the opening weekend performance I saw was enthusiastically engaged from start to finish. Buddy gives them an inside peek at recording sessions, radio, and live appearances, with the familiar tunes and lyrics of ‘That’ll Be the Day’, ‘Peggy Sue’, ‘Oh Boy’, ‘Maybe Baby’ clear audience favorites that had the packed house singing along, tapping their feet, and dancing in the pews. The scene depicting the February 2, 1959 Winter Dance Party in Clear Lake, Iowa features a crowd-pleasing rendition of ‘Johnny B Goode’, ‘La Bamba’ by Ritchie Valens (Alvarado), and ‘Chantilly Lace’ by the Big Bopper, and Isaiah Reynolds as the emcee. The ensemble members execute Felicity Stiverson’s choreography with energy and expert technique, and with encouragement by the actors (though not much was needed), audience members got up and danced as well.
The scene at the iconic Apollo Theater in Harlem, NYC at the end of Act I was powerfully performed, fitting for the historic moment it represented. Buddy Holly and the Crickets would be the first white act to ever perform at the theater for the mostly African American audience. Actors Ta’nika Gibson (an outstanding Lucinda in Broadway’s Into the Woods and Isaiah Reynolds (a phabulous Pharus in Speakeasy Stage’s Choir Boy play) Apollo regulars who are somewhat shocked that the musicians who have been booked to perform (and who sound Black) are white, and skeptical that the audience will respond favorably. Though it takes a while for the audience to warm up to them, the resulting blend of rhythms, instruments and performers of different races is magical, and reminds us of the power of music to heal and unite and rock ‘n’ roll’s important place in American history. For tickets and information, go to: https://capeplayhouse.com/
