Circa ’21’s ‘Buddy’ is déjà vu all over again

ROCK ISLAND — Fact mirrored fiction on the frigid opening night of “Buddy — The Buddy Holly Story” at the Circa ’21 dinner playhouse theater on Jan.18. The mercury dipped below zero; eerily reminiscent of the winter weather in Iowa on the night before “the day the music died.” It’s difficult to fathom exactly how right Don Mclean was when he wrote that line in his famous song — “American Pie”— about Buddy Holly. That is, until you attend a performance of the latest production from Circa ’21 in Rock Island, Ill. “Buddy” is a musical based on the talent and meteoric rise to fame of Buddy Holly of the Crickets. He was only 22 years old when he was killed in a plane crash along with Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. Even though he’d only been recording for two years, he left a musical legacy that would eventually influence later... [read full story]