Shropshire Star

The Buddy Holly Story coming to Birmingham's New Alex Theatre

When Buddy Holly's widow watched The Buddy Holly Story for the first time, she cried.

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The show was so powerful and so accurate that she couldn't sit through it all. It brought back a wave of emotion – some happy, some sad – as she marvelled at the music and the performances.

The show has now been seen by a staggering 22 million people and it's back on the road with a production at Birmingham's New Alexandra Theatre tonight and tomorrow.

Fans can experience the drama, passion and excitement as a cast of talented actors and musicians tell Buddy Holly's story, from his meteoric rise to fame, to his final legendary performance at The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Featuring two hours of the greatest songs ever written, it includes That'll Be The Day, Oh Boy, Rave On, La Bamba, Chantilly Lace, Johnny B. Goode, Raining In My Heart, Everyday, Shout and many more.

Buddy's widow, Maria Elena Holly, says she was a big fan of the show.

"First of all it's Buddy's music and then they've done a terrific job putting Buddy's life out there. It is the best excerpt of his career and just seeing the people out there enjoying themselves, even getting up and dancing to Buddy's music and getting excited, it makes me so happy.

"It's very happy, uplifting music and it's simple. That's the world I've heard from fellow musicians. It's Buddy's songs but other people can put their own way of doing it onto those song."

Maria Elena can remember the first time she said it. "The first time I saw The Buddy Story I came to London and the person playing Buddy did a fantastic job. I had so many feelings I couldn't sit through the whole thing. When I saw it on stage it was like seeing Buddy and I got really upset about it and started crying. There were mixed emotions, even though I saw how well done it was. It brought a lot of sad memories back and I was not prepared for that."

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