“It was a beautiful show and our audiences were wowed and deeply moved. In particular, one woman who brought her spouse who has been mostly non-responsive due to Alzheimer’s, said how he had come alive during the performance and how grateful and moved she was. Another family reported that it opened up a wonderful and enriching conversation between the grandfather and granddaughter about the Apollo, race relations, and that time in Fayetteville. Everyone who saw it loved it – we thoroughly enjoyed our time with Buddy!”
— Ella Wrenn, Managing Director, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Fayetteville, North Carolina

IT’S SO EASY TO FALL IN LOVE WITH CFRT’S BUDDY HOLLY (abridged)
by Kathleen Ramsey, Up & Coming Weekly

“On a muggy Friday night at Cape Fear Regional Theatre a man stands on another man’s bass while playing guitar. The crowd’s energy is buzzing. They are up on their feet on occasion. They are clapping along.

“They break out into a cheer. They are singing parts of songs back to the tall, slender guy in a suit with dark-colored framed glasses. These frames are almost as iconic as some of the songs. While this may sound like a rock'n'roll concert as opposed to a play, it's actually somewhere in between — shining with the best of both worlds...

“With it comes a lot of music, laughter, a few tears and a rip-roaring good time. For a minute, the audience may have forgotten just exactly where they were as they become enthralled in the story…

“(Keaton) Eckhoff embodies a stunning Buddy Holly — both his look and his voice being a great match for the rock'n'roll legend… His rendition of ‘That’ll Be the Day’ or ‘Everyday’ is as close to hearing the real musician as one might get these days. Eckhoff seems like not just a talented actor but a talented musician, too.

“The Crickets, played by Julian James, Cason Day and Bennett Petersen, were a great showcase of talent… Each actor played their own instruments and bounced around on stage as if they were throwing a real concert…

“Another great addition to this play was Hipockets performed by Mikey LoBalsamo. LoBalsamo had the perfect voice for a radio host and was charismatic in all his scenes… LoBalsamo’s quirky character was always welcomed by the audience…

“What is most impressive about this production is the use of all the live, real music… The stage is often littered with all sorts of different instruments and beautiful voices to fill the rest. Most of the actors in the play are both actors and musicians so the songs played to the audience are played right before their very eyes...

“While the story of the real Buddy Holly ends in a tragic way, the folks down at CFRT help bring it back around, leaving the audience feeling good as they leave. At the end, the performers give what is like a mini-concert. And ultimately, on this night and probably all the other nights too, the audience cheered for an encore.

“Enjoyable… great, engaging moments of acting… stunning musical performances… For this production, it seems Buddy Holly was right, it’s so easy to fall in love.”