Buddy, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
Tuesday 10th March 2009, 9:26AM GMT.
Review – Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
It’s fifty years, almost to the month, since Buddy Holly boarded a plane for North Dakota.
We all know that he never made it to his destination, and yet, last night at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre, there he was: still just 22 years old and with his whole life ahead of him.
See our Buddy photo gallery below
As Buddy, Glen Joseph really does give it both barrels. Holly lives and breathes though him, growing from a quick-with-his-fists teenager to slick veteran performer.
The singing, the fantastic guitar playing, the knowledge of his own brilliance and the impatience with those who cannot keep up, it’s all there – a young man in a hurry who, you suspect, knows deep down that he doesn’t have a lot of time.
Joseph tears through the songs, and you’d have to be made of stone not to feel a lump in your throat when Buddy finally leaves the stage to catch his plane.
Joseph is an outstanding performer, but he’s matched by every member of the cast – particularly Colin McGregor’s Big Bopper, a scene-stealing human cartoon.
You can only admire the way the performers move from one character to another, play their instruments and make the Grand Theatre into the Harlem Apollo or Surf Ballroom, Iowa.
They deserved their standing ovation.
Buddy runs until Saturday and tickets are still available from the Grand Theatre website.
Get one.
Andrew Owen
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