Matt Wycliffe and Dean Elliott
as Buddy Holly
|
Dean Elliott and Matthew Wycliffe, who shared the title role of Buddy Holly on the recent national tour of the bio-musical
Buddy, based on the all-too-brief life of the legendary rock pioneer, will continue to do so when, as
previously reported, it returns to the West End’s Duchess Theatre from 3 August. Also in leading roles are Lucia Rovardi as Holly’s wife Maria Elena, Lee Ormsby as The Big Bopper and Miguel Angel as Ritchie Valens.
Elliott, a 2003 graduate of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), was previously in a U.K. and Scandinavian tour of Buddy as Joe B Maudlin, in which he understudied Buddy Holly. His other theatre credits include Over The Rainbow – The Eva Cassidy Story (UK / Eire tour), Prince Charming in Cinderella (Adam Smith Theatre), Andrew in Dennis’s Summer Holiday (New Vic Theatre, Stoke), Marky in Release The Beat (Arcola Theatre, London), Marco in Hold Tight It’s 60’s Night (European Tour), The Prince in The Little Mermaid (Courtyard Theatre, Hereford) and Roy in Now That’s What I Call A Karaoke Musical (Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh Festival).
Wycliffe, a 2006 graduate of Arts Ed, has just completed a U.K. tour of This is Elvis, which marked his professional stage debut. As well as a bassist and singer, he also plays the harmonica and drums, and specialises in boogie-woogie piano.
Rovardi, a 2005 graduate of the Drama School, most recently played Alexandra in Perth Repertory Theatre’s production of Lilian Hellman’s The Little Foxes. Other roles include appearances in Stephen Berkoff’s East, Brian Friel’s Translations and Nicola McCartney’s Lifeboat.
Orsmby, a graduate of Middlesex University and Mountview Theatre School, has appeared as Artie Green in the UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, and also appeared in the 2004 Radio 2 concert version with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Petula Clark and Michael Ball. His other stage credits include Sweeney Todd (Redgrave Theatre), Crazyface (Bristol Old Vic, directed by Clive Barker) and The Bluebird of Paradise (Players Theatre). His TV credits include The Josie Lawrence Show, The Honey Siege, Displaced Person, Down to Earth, The Democracy Game, Going Live and Emmerdale.
New York trained, Puerto Rico native Angel has toured in the U.S. and Europe in show including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in which he appeared as the Butler opposite Donny Osmond, A Chorus Line, La Cage Aux Folles and West Side Story. He spent most of 2006 on the Mediterranean singing in Spanish and English on a Spanish Cruise Ship.
Also in the cast are Gavin Barnes, Hayley Berkley, Chris Grahamson, Kerry James, Greg Last, Mike Lloyd, Sean Needham, Wendy Paver and Nick Sayce. The musical director and swing musician is John Banister.
Co-written by Alan Janes and Rob Bettinson, with the former producing and the latter directing, it tells the story of Holly’s meteoric rise to stardom, which began in 1957. He sang his way from a Nashville recording studio to global success, only to die at age 22 in a plane crash just two years later, alongside 17-year-old Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. The show sets the story to a live soundtrack of over 20 of Holly’s greatest hits, including “Peggy Sue”, “That’ll be the Day”, “Oh Boy”, “Rave On”, “Heartbeat” and “Raining in my Heart”.
Buddy previously enjoyed a record-breaking 13-year-run in the West End that began at the Victoria Palace in October 1989, where it ran to September 1995, before transferring to the Strand Theatre (now the Novello) from October 1995, running to March 2002.
It has since gone on to become a worldwide success, from Broadway (where it ran at the Shubert Theatre in 1990/1) and Las Vegas to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Europe, Japan and Singapore. During that time it has been seen by over 20 million people in over 16,000 performances worldwide.