“If you knew Peggy Sue, [t]hen you’d know why I feel blue ...”
Relive the golden days of rock ‘n’ roll with those lyrics and more at the Arizona Broadway Theatre’s presentation of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story.” The show opens Friday, March 1 and continues through Saturday, March 30.
Written by Alan Janes, “The Buddy Holly Story” tells of Buddy Holly’s meteoric rise from his humble country music roots to the top of the record charts. It features more than 20 of Holly’s greatest hits, including “Peggy Sue,” “That’ll Be the Day,” “Maybe Baby” and “Oh Boy.” The play originated in London’s West End, ran for more than 5,000 performances there, and has been seen by more than 20 million people worldwide.
Award-winning Valley director/producer Damon Dering will direct the musical at ABT, and ABT’s own award-winning Kurtis W. Overby will choreograph.
Jared Mancuso takes the stage as Buddy Holly. Mancuso majored in acting at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City and has played in a variety of bands from middle school on. He is currently finishing up his debut solo album, consisting of 10 songs for which he plays all of the instruments.
A brilliant musician who changed the face of popular music, Holly was one of the first rock 'n' rollers to write, produce and perform his own songs. Holly’s life, along with that of rock legends Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), was tragically cut short in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. The date was Feb. 3, 1959, dubbed “the day the music died” by Don McLean's song “American Pie.”
But the music lives on, and so does Holly in “The Buddy Holly Story.”
ABT’s curtain times are Tuesday-Friday at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday (March 13, 20 and 27) at 2 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Order tickets online or call the box office at (623) 776-8400. Arizona Broadway Theatre is located at 7701 W. Paradise Lane in Peoria, Ariz.
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