"Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story" at History Theatre

"That'll Be the Day." "Peggy Sue." "Oh, Boy." "Maybe Baby." These iconic songs by '50s rocker Buddy Holly are so much a part of our culture that everyone knows them, even those of us born long after his tragic death in a plane crash in 1959. Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story, a jukebox musical that uses Buddy Holly's music to tell his story, premiered in London in 1989 before crossing the pond to be seen on stages around the country. It's a fitting choice for the History Theatre, which brings varied and sometimes obscure pieces of Minnesota history to life on stage. What does Buddy Holly have to do with Minnesota? His doomed plane was on its way from Clear Lake, Iowa to Moorhead, Minnesota when it crashed, killing Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. This production, which premiered at the History Theatre in 2005 and was remounted a few times, is back this year for the first time since 2015, with many returning cast members and creatives (including director Ron Peluso in his final season as Artistic Director). Buddy! is a fun celebration of the all too short life and career of this pioneering rock-and-roller, enjoyed equally by those who remember first-hand his life and death, and those who only know the legend (although the audience skews much more towards the former).* This run of Buddy! continues through the end of the month; click here for info and tickets.

Fringe Festival 2017: "STRANGER"

Day: 10

Show: 39

Title: STRANGER

Category: Drama

By: Perspectives Theater Company

Created by: Morgan Holmes and Erika Levy

Location: U of M Rarig Center Arena

Summary: A rumination on the intersection of race and faith using movement, music, and dialogue.

Highlights: STRANGER is a beautiful, truthful, quiet, thoughtful show that really brings the audience into the unique experience of being a Jewish person of color. The three actors (Fernanda Badeo, Gabrielle Dominique, Ricardo Beaird) are all beautifully honest in their portrayal as they tell the varied stories of Jews of color (collected from extensive interviews). One of the best things that theater can do is provide a place for different voices to be heard, and this is a voice and a story I haven't heard much. Movement (designed by Emily Madigan) and sound (designed by Izzy Burger Welsh) are thoughtfully used to help tell the stories, which include a Jewish woman from Brazil whose parents move to the U.S. in search of a better life, an African American man who chooses to become Jewish, and a little black girl who's teased by the other kids for observing Passover instead of eating Easter candy. Much attention to detail is paid in the storytelling and the result is a poignant, moving, cohesive show in which people are allowed to give voice their own experiences.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.