Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...And even though this "Buddy" offers no surprises, longtime Marriott theatergoers still only rarely get to hear music coming from all corners of the theater, as distinct from the usual glass box that inevitably creates a kind of separation, notwithstanding the theater's longtime excellence in sound design."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...Heading up Mak's winning ensemble of seasoned actor/singer/instrumentalists (make that multi-instrumentalists) is Kieran McCabe, who pairs considerable guitar skills with aw-shucks charm and quiet resolve as the beloved, bespectacled Holly."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Alan Janes's musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is a clever piece of work, mixing the best elements of a biographical play, a jukebox musical, and a cover band concert into a bubbly, tightly written confection that reveals in 100 minutes why Buddy Holly was great and loved as a songwriter and performer and why Don McLean would call February 3, 1959-the day he was killed in a plane crash-"the day the music died." The show features many of Holly's best-known hits: "That'll Be the Day," "Fade Away," "Peggy Sue," plus other hits of the era-most notably "Chantilly Lace" and "La Bamba," songs associated with the two other musicians who died with Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...I highly recommend Buddy-The Buddy Holly Story to anyone who loves great music and theater. And if you're looking for a Broadway-quality experience in Lincolnshire, the Marriott Theatre is the place to be."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Written by Alan James, and supported by Sir Paul McCartney (who owns the rights to the music), brought “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” to London’s Victoria Palace Theatre. This toe-tapping, high energy musical story, which eventually transferred to Broadway, depicted the meteoric rise to fame of rock and roll legend Buddy Holly. proving to be an absolute crowd-pleaser, it played for 12 years and began a new trend of theatre called the jukebox musical. That trend continues today with shows like “Jersey Boys,” “Ain’t Too Proud,” “Tina” and “MJ.”"
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...it’s the music that’s the point of this show, from Buddy Holly’s songs to Valens’ and Richardson’s and all of the other oldies the audience enjoys. And it’s this cast, directed by Amber Mak, who put the songs center stage. Because while Holly and Valens and Richardson and so many other rock ‘n’ rollers might have died far too soon, their music will always be alive, so long as there are youthful and talented singers and musicians to keep them that way. Sing and dance along, from now through August 13, to Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, to this music that will never die."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...The Jeff Award for The Cast Having the Most Fun in the Summer of 2023 goes to Marriott Lincolnshire’s Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. Patrons, take note: your soul will thank you for taking an evening (or afternoon) to join them."
Chicago Theater and Arts - Highly Recommended
"...The show, a rocking 100 minutes without intermission, magnificently proves, once again, that Buddy Holly's musical vision, personality and ground-breaking style made him the super star that would live on past his tragic plane crash in 1959 at age 22."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...Whether you're a Boomer who has lived all of their life with Holly's music, a younger person who only knows some of his songs, or someone who knows nothing at all about him, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is a joyous celebration of his heart and his talent, as well as the exuberance of youth and the seemingly endless possibilities that young artists of his era enjoyed. Don McLean, in his song "American Pie," famously called that plane crash "the day the music died," but the thing about music is that, as long as someone sings or plays it, it simply can't die; its spirit is kept alive with ardent zeal in shows like this one."
Life and Times - Highly Recommended
"...More than any version of Buddy that I’ve seen before, Marriott’s production relies heavily on the shoulders of the young man playing the title character. With scorching guitar skills, an infectious do-wop voice, and the affable charm of Tom Holland, Kieran McCabe is refreshing, cool, and delightfully fun as Buddy Holly."
Chicago Culture Authority - Recommended
"...Pretty much anyone who attends Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story knows how it ends even before the musical’s first note plays: with a fatal plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, on Feb. 3, 1959, now recalled, thanks to Don McLean, as the Day the Music Died. Which makes it all the more poignant to watch Holly, played marvelously by the effervescent Kieren McCabe in the new Marriott Lincolnshire production, zipping through the preceding couple of years like he somehow knows he’s living on borrowed time."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...Chicagoan musician and actor Kieran McCabe has expertly honed the role of Buddy Holly as he and his bandmates have been playing Holly and the Crickets songs since 2018. This production has twenty-five musical numbers including the first recorded hit That’ll Be the Day written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison in 1956 and re-recorded by Holly and the new band, the Crickets in 1957. Other popular tunes included in this high-energy staging are Peggy Sue, Everyday, Ritchie Valens’ La Bamba,” The Big Bopper’s Chantilly Lace, and Oh Boy."
