Original production

Alan Janes worked with originating director Rob Bettinson, and originating musical director Paul Jury, to present the show for a three/week pre-London engagement in August 1989 at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, with Paul Hipp as Buddy Holly. The first shows were beset by technical problems, but audiences were enthusiastic.^[2]

West End productions

Buddy transferred to the Victoria Palace Theatre and opened on 12 October 1989. Structural engineers were called to the theatre to make sure the dress circle could take the weight as the structure bounced with the audience as they danced. Buddy transferred to the Novello Theatre, completing a total of 12 and a half years and 5,140 performances at the two theatres. In 2007, Janes brought the show back to the West End at the Duchess Theatre, where it played for a further 634 performances.^[3][4] The 50th Anniversary of Holly's death was celebrated on 3 February with a special performance incorporating several new numbers for that one night. The role of Buddy Holly was equally shared by Dean Elliott and Matthew Wycliffe, who played the role in the 2007 UK touring company.^[5] Ritchie Valens was played by Puerto Rican actor Miguel Angel, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) by actor Lee Ormsby.^[6] The 50th Anniversary Tour played concurrently across the UK and starred Oliver Seymour-Marsh and Glen Joseph as Buddy, with Chris Redmond and Dan Graham as the Crickets.^[7]

UK national tours

A UK national tour of Buddy began in June 1991 at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth. This was the first West End production to tour the UK while still playing in the West End; it set a record of 243 weeks of continuous touring, or 4 years 35 weeks on the road.^{[citation needed]} Buddy has continued to tour frequently in the UK.^[8]

Broadway production/US national tours

After a Toronto try-out and 15 previews, the Broadway production, also starring Hipp, opened on November 4, 1990, at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 225 performances. Jill Hennessy played a number of roles, including Holly's wife Maria Elena. The show has toured extensively throughout the US, starting with a 53-week tour in November 1991, and with the 5th tour finishing in March 2016.^[9]

International and touring productions

Buddy has been staged in more than 17 countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, UK and USA. Over 25 million people have seen the show worldwide. In Australia, the show's first tour played Sydney's Theatre Royal for 36 weeks before continuing throughout Australia for a further 60 weeks. The second Australian tour in 2009 ran for 39 weeks.^[10]

In Germany, the Stage Theatre in Hamburg was built on land next to the river Elbe specifically for Buddy, where the show played for seven years between 1994 and 2001.^{[citation needed]}

Act I

The action takes place in Lubbock, Texas; Clovis, New Mexico; New York City and Clear Lake, Iowa; between January 1956 and February 1959.

With the support of local Lubbock Texas radio DJ, Hipockets Duncan, Buddy and his two friends form a Country & Western band – Buddy Holly & the Crickets – and begin to carve out a career in music. After a difficult start at Decca Records in Nashville, they sign a contract with up-and-coming, innovative record producer Norman Petty who is based in Clovis, New Mexico. Within hours, Buddy Holly & the Crickets start to churn out hits from the recording studio built in Norman's backyard, among them "That'll Be The Day", which will rocket up the charts to number one in a matter of weeks. Buddy Holly & the Crickets are suddenly the hottest act in the country and out on national tour.

Buddy and his band go to New York where they perform at the Apollo Theater making history as the first white band to perform there.

Act II

While recording in New York, Buddy proposes to Maria Elena Santiago, the Puerto Rican receptionist of his music publisher after a courtship of all of five hours. Newly married and ambitious, he shifts focus to New York and a rift develops between him and the Crickets. After a declaration of home truths during a recording session, the band split and Buddy unexpectedly finds himself having to pursue a solo career.

Buddy joins The Winter Dance Party of 1959, a bus tour through the Midwest quenching the teenage thirst for the "new music called Rock 'n' Roll" The tour is hard work, the weather conditions appalling and the performers are alternating between sleeping in the luggage racks and dropping into hospital to be treated for frostbite.

The story ends on February 3, 1959, after a rocking concert with the "Big Bopper" J.P. Richardson and Ritchie Valens at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. Buddy makes the fateful decision to break his promise to his pregnant wife not to fly, as he and the other two headliners board a small plane and take off into the night destined for their next show. During a snow storm, in the dead of night, the plane crashes and spares no survivors.

Act 1

• Grand Bowl, Lubbock, Texas
• A Lubbock diner
• Decca Recording Studios, Nashville
• KDAV Radio Studio, Lubbock
• NorVaJak Studios, Clovis, New Mexico
• Apollo Theatre, Harlem, New York

Act 2

• Music Publisher's Office, New York
• Central Park, New York
• NorVaJak Studios, Clovis
• Buddy & Maria Elena's Apartment, New York
• Backstage Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, Iowa
• Clear Lake Concert