BUDDY- THE BUDDY HOLLY Closes 2010 Lyric At The Civic Center Season 8/7

Lyric Theatre closes its 2010 Lyric at the Civic Center Season with BUDDY- The Buddy Holly Story, on August 3rd-7th at the Civic Center Music Hall in downtown Oklahoma City.

In 1959, the life of the man who forever changed the face of popular music was tragically cut short. Today, the smash hit musical tells the story of Buddy Holly and his incredible rise to fame in a show that features over twenty of his greatest songs including "Peggy Sue", "That'll Be The Day", "Oh Boy" and "Everyday". The second act falls deep in rock n' roll fans hearts as it recreates the night of Buddy Holly last concert performance on February 2, 1959 at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. This high-energy, infectious rock-n-roll musical will leave you with a smile on your face and a spring in your step.

Lyric's BUDDY- The Buddy Holly Story will be under the direction of DJ Salsbury. DJ's credits include regional and national performances of The Will Rogers Follies, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Nunsense, The Full Monty, Anything Goes, Cats as well as directing Lyric's 2008 production of Seven Brides for Seven Brother's.

Ben Hope is joining the team at Lyric for his debut as Buddy Holly. Ben's favorite roles include Hank Williams in Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Ellard in the Foreigner, Young Johnny in Ring of Fire, Bill Calhoun in Kiss me Kate, Young Harry in Lies and Legends: The Music of Harry Chapin and Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Jayson Elliott, an actor and musician from Indiana, has been seen as The Big Bopper at Media Theatre in Philidelphia and Roxy Regional in Nashville, as well as numerous tribute concerts throughout the nation. Jay's other favorite credits include Dave in The Full Monty, Jud Fry in Oklahoma!, Stanley Sanders in the Smoke on the Mountain series, Jim in Pump Boys and Dinettes, Moose in Crazy for You, and a recently completed run of Always...Patsy Cline.

Lyric Theatre is especially excited about this showing of BUDDY- The Buddy Holly Story because Tommy Allsup, one of the memorable lead guitarist with Buddy Holly, was born and raised in Owassa, Oklahoma in 1931.

Lyric at the Civic Center 2010 season Title Sponsor is Chesapeake Energy Corporation. Presenting Sponsor is The Oklahoman, with additional season support provided by American Airlines, Kirkpatrick Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation, Allied Arts, Oklahoma Arts Council, and Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores. BUDDY- The Buddy Holly Story is sponsored by Great Plains Coca Cola, Marc and Betsy Rowland and Bank of Oklahoma.

Single tickets for BUDDY- The Buddy Holly Story range from $29 to $66. Performances are on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. To purchase tickets go to www.lyrictheatreokc.com, call (405) 524-9312, come by Lyric Theatre's ticket office located on 1727 NW 16 St., Oklahoma City, Okla, or call the Civic Center Box office at (405) 297-2264 or 1-800-364-7111.

Lyric will continue to produce Broadway quality musicals and plays at the Plaza Theatre located at NW 16th Street starting in October 2010 with The Rocky Horror Show.

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