Now playing at the Hackmatack Playhouse is “The Buddy Holly Story.” The show was written by Alan James, directed and staged by Billy Butler. 

Holly was a singer/composer whose years of fame spanned l958 and 1959. At that time country music and rock and roll were separate streams of music. Holly was a leading force uniting these separate genres of music. This production wisely decided to concentrate their efforts on the legacy of his songs as opposed to going into too many details of his life.

Holly (played brilliantly by Joshua Rubinstein) was the featured act of a group known as the Crickets. He was the lead singer and guitarist. Joe Maudlin (Thomas Jeffrey) was string bass, Jerry Allson (Matt Walsh) was the drummer and Tommy Allsup (Thomas Hanlon) was another guitarist.

The plot can be summarized as follows: The group was fired from a radio program in Texas for singing rock and roll as opposed to country songs. They go to see producer Norman Petty (Jake Stibbe) in New Mexico and record many songs for him in his studio. Naive in financial matters, most of the royalties from the sale of these records will go to Petty. The group goes to New York and make an appearance at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, a venue that white performers do not normally appear. Their appearance is successful and their recordings are played on the air. 

During a visit to a producer, Holly sees Maria (Ash Martinez) and decides that she should become his wife. She senses friction between her and the group because of her Hispanic heritage and Holly decides to leave the group to seek a career as a soloist. While on tour in the west, Holly decides to travel by plane instead of by bus and dies when the plane crashes, along with two other solo performers, guitarist Big Bopper (Alec Paulson) and dancer/singer Richie Valens (Gian DiCostano). 

The cast consists of students and/or graduates of many local colleges. They are a talented group of singers, instrumentalists and dancers. First among equals is the lead, `Joshua Rubinstein. He is a major talent in my opinion. He can deliver a spirited rock song with attendant moves, croon a ballad, and he plays a wicked guitar as well. I can’t comment on his or any of the others other than to state that their robust and energetic renditions are moving and believable. If that is acting, then they all acted very well. Michael Fisher was an Apollo performer and distinguished himself later in the show as pianist in the song “Rave On.” Paulson stopped the show with his rendition of “Chantilly Lace.” Other featured performers included Norman Petty, violin; Vi Petty, piano; Dana Isman, singer (“Shout”); and Jeff Blanchette, saxophone/clarinet. Among the many songs performed in the show standouts included: “Ready Teddy,” “Shout,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” “La Bamba,” and “Jonny B. Goode.” There was a super reprise of “Oh Boy” at the end and the sell-out house at the matinee I attended gave the cast a standing ovation and would not let the cast go. Kudos especially to Jennifer Citarelli for one super job of musical preparation for this show. 

The show continues at Hackmatack at 8 p.m. July 19-22 with matinees at 2 p.m. July 20 and 22. If you recognize the names of these songs, the lively nostalgia should attract you. If you do not then you owe it to yourself to see this living piece of recent music history. Buddy Holly had a brief but stellar career cut all too short. Jacobson and friends recreated the musical highlights of that career.

—Dr. Moron Gold is a composer/conductor, retired educator and an arts reviewer of the Journal Tribune.