A Few Days of Shows In Las Vegas: Buddy Holly, Richard Lewis & Susie Essman

On Friday and Saturday nights Richard Lewis and Susie Essman performed at the Venetian Theatre. It was vintage Las Vegas — very funny and very, very blue. They are a perfect combination. He is burdened by tons of psychological baggage and she carries nothing, just lets it all out. It was great fun and I hope they return very, very soon.

Also last weekend (and again June 10 through 13 and June 17 through 20), Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story was at the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park in Red Rock Canyon. The setting is beautiful with the canyon surrounding the theater. It's a fun place to see a show and this was a fun show to see.

It is, of course, the story of rock 'n' roll singer Buddy Holly who compiled an enviable string of hits before he died at 22 in a plane crash with fellow singers JP Richardson (The Big Bopper) and 17 year-old Ritchie Valens. His death, according to the classic Don McLean song, was The Day the Music Died.

As Holly, Brandon Albright is the perfect combination of pop music genius and dork. He's got the voice (includig the catch patented by Little Richard who, in turn, learned it from R&B legend Ruth Brown) and the look. He's by turn very young and very sure of himself, a multi-faceted personality beautifully portrayed. He does a terrific job.

As Richardson and record producer Norman Petty, Paul May is a lovely surprise. You don't realize that the quiet, calming, subdued Petty is the same man as Richardson. The latter is all over the place, bopping away and revving up the crowd. His voice is a bit higher than the Bopper's, but he's got the moves in a very nice performance.

Justin Rodriguez has a good voice and moves that I'm not sure Valens himself possessed. He, too, is fun to watch. Not "fun," but very moving is Penelope Perez as Holly's wife Maria Elena. Following a dream, she warns him not to travel by plane and one cannot help but think about her when the crash is announced. It is a touching performance

The rest of the cast — a group of politically correct, if historically inaccurate performers — is up to the task of setting the time and place. The fact that the script took a story well-known to fans of rock 'n' roll, sketched the outlines and let the music speak for the protagonist is a good thing. Yes, what happened to Holly, Valens and Richardson is a tragedy, but the music they left might tell their stories better than an explicit recounting of fact.

As noted, the theater is in a lovely setting. Unfortunately, the wind can howl through the canyon at night and it creates small problems that distract from the evening. Te curtains had to be held by two stagehands who couldn't — try as they might — hide from the audience and the wind was picked up by the performers' mics sometimes creating a strange "blowback" sound.

Despite this, producing director Phillip Shelburne and musical/vocal director Thom Culcasi put together a fine, and highly recommended, production. Unless you're paying top dollar to see Jersey Boys at the Palazzo on The Strip (also a terrific, worthwhile production) you'll likely not have more fun in a theater this season.

For information on this and the other shows coming this season (West Side Story in July; Once On This Island in August and Working in September) visit www.supersummertheatre.com.

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