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The legendary tale of 1950’s Rock & Roll pioneer Buddy Holly has been captured on film in the Oscar-nominated “The Buddy Holly Story” starring Gary Busey, it’s been dramatized on Broadway, and even inspired the lyrics to the classic Don McLean song “American Pie”.  Now Chatham residents will get their own opportunity to experience the music and stories of Buddy Holly in an exciting touring show coming to the Chatham Kiwanis Theatre on Friday October 1, 2010 at 8pm.
 
“Buddy Holly: The Legend” celebrates the music and life of the incredible performer in a live theatre production starring Keith “Buddy” Martin in the title role. This professionally scripted show mixes narration, live musical performances, humorous dialogue alongside vintage wardrobe and instrumentation to authentically capture the Buddy Holly era.
 
Songs performed in the show feature all the top Buddy hits including “That’ll Be the Day”, a tune which was inspired by a quote in the John Wayne film “The Searchers”; “Peggy Sue” which was named after a band member’s girlfriend, and the Bo Diddley inspired “Not Fade Away”, later recorded by the Rolling Stones.
 
“This show will not only appeal to Buddy Holly fans but to people who want to learn about the history of popular music” notes show producer Bill Culp. “There’s no doubt that Buddy Holly was a key transitional link between the early 50’s Rock & Roll of Elvis and Carl Perkins and the British Invasion of 1964 lead by The Beatles, whose very name was derivative of Buddy’s band The Crickets”. Culp is best-known to Chatham music fans for his previous work with “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, the original touring show of the Sun Records label in Memphis, which had a very successful appearance at the local venue a couple of years ago. He notes “I’m looking forward to coming back to Chatham, it’s a very nice theatre with great sound and I enjoy all the hospitality in this town.”
 
The star of Buddy Holly: The Legend is Canada’s own Keith Martin, who takes pride in capturing the spirit of the music great. “It’s an honour to play this role each and every night I perform. While we all know that Buddy’s life had a tragic ending in a plane crash, his music has stood the test of time and it’s an amazing story to tell.”
 
Tickets for the show are only $25 and can be purchased by at the Box Office at 519-354-8338 or toll-free at 1-866-807-7770.  Tickets can also be purchased online at www.cktickets.com.  The Kiwanis Theatre is located at 75 William St. N., Chatham.