“Well, That’ll be the Day ay ay… when I Die.” These very lyrics came from the play: The Buddy Holly Story by, Alan Janes. This Play can be featured at the wonderful Grand Theater right here in London Ontario, Canada. Overall, the play was mediocre. Many parts of the musical were well planned out but, there was way too many songs. Therefore, making it a struggle to stay engaged to the play. Not only that, the play’s conclusion was not so satisfying. Instead of ending a different way the play just ended after Buddy sadly passed away.
In the plot, Buddy starts in the music business as the lead singer for a Country & Western band, The Crickets at age 19. But his heart wanted Rock and Roll. After many hit songs and getting married to the love of his life after 5 hours, the band quickly drifts apart and Buddy turns into a solo artist. Tragically reaching his death in an airplane accident on his way to a concert during his tour with the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. But he will never be forgotten he will alway be known as a Rock and Roll legend and truly an inspirational figure.
Next, the acting. Opposed to the play overall the acting was actually really satisfying. I enjoyed it because it matched the play everything was on point and time and it showed. Out of all the actors in this musical I have to say my favourite was Buddy Holly. He was always
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This play is probably one of the best out of all of them. It was so realistic I bet if you brought people to walk around I bet they would think is was a mini city. Moving forward to the costumes. The costumes suited this play very well. I think the reason why is that the they were very complex and matched the characters personality which also suited the time period really well. For example: Buddy Holly’s big thick glasses. Not only did Buddy Holly’s glasses make a huge impact but, the planned music and sounds did too making it somewhat
My favorite aspect of musical would be the lively characters, and their whimsical personalities that effectively engage the audience. Princess Winnifred’s character was especially interesting, and her personality contradicted what one would usually associate with a princess. Rather than elegant and poised, her flawed and childish personality made her seem more 3-dimensional and ultimately, brought the
He influenced artists from Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones and The Beatles, who named themselves after insects as a tribute to The Crickets. Holly was an inspiration for the early writings of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Many artists have paid tribute to Buddy such as Susan Allanson and Linda Ronstadt. Weezer released a song titled “Buddy Holly” in 1994 which references the singer. Perhaps one of the most known tributes is “American Pie” released in 1971 by Don McLean. The song memorialized “the day the music died,” referring to February 3rd, 1959, the day Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and Big Bopper died in a tragic plane crash. Eddie Cochran recorded “Three Stars,” a tribute to the singers’ deaths just one day after the accident. He was a huge hit in England; Buddy, a musical based on Holly's life opened in London in 1986 and showed for over a
I die," was taken from a Buddy Holly song entitled "That'll be the Day" and
Costumes and make-up weren’t used a whole lot during this play. One main example that a costume was used effectively un was during Spider. The costume allowed Emily Kroll to look more like a spider and helped clarify the character she was playing to the audience. Lighting played an important roles of showing importance on the set. Lighting was used very strongly when seeds were dropped from the rafters down onto the set. In the act Donny the Leaf Blower, light was used to help focus the audience on a prop falling from the rafters. I felt that the lighting helped make that portion really cool. Sound also played a strong part in this play. Sound could always be heard and didn’t overpower the actors. During the act Uh Oh, the noise made by the barrels could be heard but still allows the actors to be clearly understood. The sound helped make that song interesting. The visual and aural elements easily made the play a whole leg
With voice, everyone was very easy to hear (it was a loud show so that’s not surprising), articulation was clear (as clear as it can get for a NY accent), and singing voices were beautiful and surprisingly easy to understand (which is not always seen, especially in past musicals). Physicality was great, as mentioned the Newsies really embodied the rough and tumble feel and stayed bold and great examples of powerful underdogs. Movement was easy to read and seemingly natural. This show has very big objectives and the characters really played to those. Most of the relationships in the show were friendly relationships that functioned like family, which seemed really authentic.
I will be honest with you I had a lot of trouble enjoying the play, like I said the dialect gave me trouble, plus my seats were not that great. I did however like the movie quite a bit, but I realize I am a product of a different generation as well. I have been brought up around TV and movies rather than plays
By the end of the play, I could see sweat dripping from each actor and actress. Not once did I have to lean forward in my seat to hear, nor did I look away to observe others. I did not have to look at the audience because I could hear their laughter, and knew they were hooked, just like me. The whole time I was captured by the performer’s talent and ability to act so quickly. I could even see the performers spitting from their mouths when trying to articulate. One thing that makes an actress and actor great, is versatility. Most definitely where these performers convincing, it was not until the end that I realized one performer played several roles throughout the play. It may be because of the amazing costumes, or the performers where just that
In my opinion, I think that the clothes Scott and his men wore were absolutely perfect. From the boots, to the hats and goggles, to the gloves, everything signified that they were travelling somewhere freezing. The costumes were a little plain, which I think was a good thing because it showed some dreariness to the play. Cassie Graham, who played Kathleen, wore a beautiful white dress, which was also great for her character because it reminded me of almost an angel. She was so sweet and innocent throughout the play, and I think the white dress went very well with her character. Finally, Amundson wore a tan suit, and I think it made him look like he was higher in power compared to the other characters. The way Chandler Pawloski acted as Amundson, it was as if he thought he was better than everyone else, which is why it made sense that he was wearing an expensive-looking suit. The time was set back in the day, and I think all of these costumes really showed what time frame this was
You can have the best set and the best director in the world and without good acting the play is bland and meaningless. Fortunately there was good acting in both of the acts. In Bourbon the main character Roy portrayed the stereotypical war veteran, always at a bar, drunk, and rambling about stories in the past. Best of all he did so in a believable manner, his age also helped reinforce the believability of the character. Ray portrayed the younger brother quite well, once again had the age to make it seen as if he was the younger brother to Roy. Ray played his character quite well looking up to his brother through out the Bourbon scene. Cletis was well played as well; this was a character that was supposed to look and act as a dorky character and Cletis did so flawlessly. The characters made the play feel as if they were not acting rather being themselves which made the play a lot more relatable, enjoyable and believable. In the Laundry act of the play Elizabeth was portrayed by a woman who was similar in age as Roy which helped keep the play’s realistic theme throughout the play. All of the actors did a great job with their accents and added that southern feel to the play. Acting is a vital part in all productions in pushing the setting and making the play seem
The acting in the play was phenomenal. They used amazing facial expressions and great movements. The actors and actress were picked perfectly for their roles.They made it very believable and you could tell perfectly who was who. King George was very good and you could tell he loved his character and that made him very believable.
What I like about this play is how the characters made the audience feel involve, especially john Barrymore. For instance , there was a time when he was talking to Andrew and he turn to the audience and blow a kiss or point at them . It made feel as if I was part of the play. Also I like how the characters took on the role. The characters truly portrayed their role.
Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story, is the world’s most successful rock & roll musical. It tells the story of Buddy Holly’s rise to fame, from in the moments of 1957 when he hit the charts with the singles “That’ll Be The Day”, “Peggy Sue”, and “La Bamba”, to name a few, to the tragic death of the young singer.
The microphone could have been louder to hear him better. Even though Sandy was a main character, she did not capture the attention of the audience like she should have. During the high school prom scene, the choreography seemed a little boring. More complex dance routines could have been added to liven up the multiple dance numbers during this scene. Costumes and slang used matched the 1950s time period. The costumes looked authentic and really set the tone for the play. Slang and language throughout the play mattered the time period perfectly. A staircase that lit up to the beat of the music added a lot of interest to multiple dance numbers. Several different sets were set up during the play, and it was obvious where the characters were. The props and setting structures were constructed very well. A drag race scene did take place during the performance. The concept of preforming it seemed difficult, but the special effects and choreography worked out well. It felt like Danny and the rival gang leader were actually racing on stage. That was extremely impressive. The show was very entertaining. The language and themes were more mature, so it would not be advised for children to attend. Many of the jokes were for the
The costumes were naturalistic, fluid and they fit the roles well. For example, Sergeant Froggy puts on an army uniform that suits his name and his character. Catherine Simms puts on young-spirited type of clothes that portray her carefree nature. Overall, the costumes were nice, simple and went well with the set and the characters. The setting of the play was Betty Meeks’ fishing lodge resort in Georgia. It was a naturalistic set that had chairs, a counter, a fireplace with wood, drinks and preserved reindeer hung on the walls. Betty served fried eggs on stage and the actors actually ate it. Ellard Simms drank two bottles of soft drinks on stage too. The most amazing part of the set to me was the rain. During act 1 of the first scene, the rain seemed so naturalistic because water kept dripping down the windows. Also, the sound of the lightning made it seem like there was actually a thunder. The set, sound and lighting complemented each other well and eventually turned out to be an amazing
When I read this play I had a whole different picture in my head. Since I started reading I imagined a whole different setting and different characters. I never imagined this setting to be so abstract or “imaginary”. I was expecting a more realistic setting. In my head I had the picture that this play took place in an old village with tiny house and lots of agriculture. However, their costumes where what I had in mind ever since I started reading the play.