Buddy visited the sand dunes of Long Beach Island on the Jersey Shore in the summer of 2025, for a triumphant production and run at the Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven. The Surflight’s Producing Artistic Director, Steve Steiner, has a long history of producing and directing Buddy, but was also a member of the original Broadway company of the show back in the early ’90s!
Review:
Buddy Holly Story at Surflight Theatre is Rock ‘n’ Roll hit (abridged)
Opening Night Audience Approves, An Amazingly Energetic Show
“Surflight Theatre is on a roll. The opening night audience for Surflight Theatre’s West Side Story immediately rose as one when it came time for the curtain call. Opening night attendees for Surflight’s next musical, Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story, absolutely leapt to their feet as the cast came out to take their bows. And they stayed on their feet as they enjoyed a few musical encores.
“It was great to see people roar their applause… There were many highlights in the Surflight production… (Collin Yates) shone… His guitar work was fast and his singing was good. But his energy was, well, let’s put it this way, if he had been hooked into the electric grid he could have kept the lights on in a fairly large city for hours.”
—Rick Mellerup, The SandPaper
The cast includes Collin Yates as Buddy Holly, Joey Nuhfer as Joe B. Mauldin, Brian Conlon as Jerry Allison, Nathan Roberts as Niki/Tommy (4th Cricket), Mike Brennan as Norman Petty & the Big Bopper, Kevin Hincapie as Ritchie Valens.
The rest of the cast includes: Lexie Brown, Kasie Buono, Mary Ann DiPietro, Zion Hall, Dwan Hayes, Isaiah Mayhew, Matty Mitchell, Gabriela Moncivais, Lizzy Perrone, Jordan Polefka, Alison Nusbaum, Tim Steiner, Steve Steiner, and August W. Walker.
Costumes – Gail Anderson/Keith Schneider
Set – Jeff Weigel/Gail Anderson
Props – Jenna Reif
Lighting – Anthony Marinaro
Sound – Ian Wehrle
Directed by Steve Steiner
Musical Director – Matty Mitchell
Photos by John Posada
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