Buddy-The Buddy Holly Story

There wasn't  a day the music died in Philadelphia. Buddy Holly is alive and well, hiding out at the Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut Street, sometimes using the name Christopher Sutton. You will not convince any member of the 300 person audience of Buddy- The Buddy Holly Story that he isn’t witnessing a Buddy Holly performance.  While making no effort to keep my own feet still, I glanced around the theatre and saw that no one was sitting motionless in his seat.  Walnut Street’s main stage brings you an absolutely foot-tapping, hand-clapping, and body-swaying total immersion into the experience of the rise of Buddy Holly.  Christopher Sutton not only looks remarkably like the musical genius who met his untimely death at the age of 22, but on several of his songs he sounds exactly like him as well.  The audience can’t get enough and when you go, you'd better bring your dancing shoes and be prepared to dance in the aisles. Miguel Jarquin-Moreland portrays a vibrant Richie Valens as he sings La Bamba and shimmies his way across the stage.  When Philadelphia favorite Scott Greer  belts out Chantilly Lace, he appears to be the reincarnation of The Big Bopper. There is so much energy on the stage from the show’s beginning to end; there should be a way to bottle it and save it for a power failure.. But the word failure and The Buddy Holly Story should not be mentioned in the same paragraph for this production is anything but one. From the casting to the direction, from the staging to the choreography, from the lighting to the sound….everything about this performance screams success. Don’t be the last of your friends to see the show that everyone is bound to be talking about. Buddy-The Buddy Holly Story will be appearing at the Walnut Street theatre through July 15.  For tickets or further information, call 215-574-3550 or visit online at www.WalnutStreetTheatre.org.