New Buddy comes to town

‘The Buddy Holly Story’ returns to Majestic Theater for another round

By K eith O ’C onnor Special to The Republican

There is a new Buddy in town.

Dan Whelton will play the role of the iconic ’50s rocker when “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” returns to the Majestic Theater in West Springfield on Thursday for yet another command performance.

Whelton replaces Ben Ashley who has brought the late musician to life — he died tragically at the age of 22 along with fellow musicians Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper when their plane crashed in 1959 — since the popular theater opened in March 1997.

The play follows the musical path of the young man from Lubbock, Texas, who created some of rock’s first big hits including “That’ll Be the Day,” “Rave On,” “Oh Boy,” and “Peggy Sue,” among others featured in the show. Holly led the way in writing and producing his own songs, as well as playing all the instruments with his band, The Crickets. “Buddy” also features many other hit tunes of the era including “Chantilly Lace” and “La Bamba.”

“It is an honor to play Buddy Holly. I performed as one of The Crickets, his back-up band, in the previous performance alongside Ben Ashley, and am proud to continue what has become an important part of the history of the Majestic,” Whelton said.

Whelton, who lives in Manchester, Connecticut, began performing 15 years ago in plays at the theater

“This will be our sixth full production of the play since we opened in 1997. We introduced the musical ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ for our 20th anniversary season and thought maybe it would take over as the new ‘Buddy’ for audiences.