After 10 Years, Billy Says Goodbye to Buddy

10 years ago, Omaha Community Playhouse Artistic Director Carl Beck and Music Director Jim Boggess sat in Dubs Pub (now the Waiting Room) in Benson and watched Billy McGuigan perform with his band. They walked out in the middle of the set. They had seen enough. The next day, they offered Billy the title role in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. That show was one of the most successful shows OCP ever produced and it launched a new life for Billy.


After 10 years of travelling the country portraying the rock legend, Billy McGuigan is retiring as Buddy Holly. “It definitely wasn’t an easy decision, but to me it just seemed like it was time,” said Billy. “It’s definitely not that I’ve stopped enjoying it, but I truly didn’t want to become the guy that overstays his welcome. You know, the old guy playing the 22-year-old. Buddy Holly’s career was only 18 months; I’m going on 10 years.”



Although Billy won’t be playing Buddy anymore, Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience will continue. “After this run [at OCP], we have some dates across the country over the next year or so,” said Billy. “I’ll fulfill those obligations and then hang up the glasses for good. Our plan is to find someone to replace me in Rave On and then to keep the show touring for as long as people are interested. We’ve worked diligently over the past year fine tuning and honing the show so that someone could just step right in and take over. My role will be as the producer and director, overseeing the transition so that the quality of the production stays the same!”


Billy won’t be seen around OCP in the horn-rimmed glasses after June, but this isn’t the last you’ll see of him. “Once Rave On is over, I’ll concentrate all of my efforts on Yesterday and Today and Rock Legends,” said Billy. “I’ve loved seeing these shows gain traction across the country, and I so enjoy getting the chance to spend time with my brothers in these shows.” Yesterday and Today will play at OCP in December in the Howard Drew Theatre.

In reference to his favorite part of his Buddy Holly career, Billy said, “It almost sounds like a Dr. Seuss book, but the places that it has taken me and the lifelong friendships that have been established as a result of playing the role. That’s on a selfish note. On a more general level, there has been nothing like being in the middle of the madness, seeing all of these great things from behind foggy glasses. The energy and outpouring of love from audiences that playing this rock icon’s great music has evoked is something that I’ll never forget. I suppose that’s why I’ve done it for 10 years!”


Don’t miss Billy McGuigan’s last Omaha performance as Buddy Holly in Rave On at the Omaha Community Playhouse June 8-24 in the Howard Drew Theatre. Performances are Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m. Tickets are $38 or $32 for groups of 15 or more. For tickets, call (402) 553-0800, visit the Box Office or click here.

Summer Sponsors Support OCP!

Summer 2012 will be your last chance to catch perfomer Billy McGuigan’s portrayal of music icon Buddy Holly in Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience. The Omaha Community Playhouse would like to thank and recognize the show sponsors who help underwrite those costs not covered by ticket sales. Please thank these generous donors if you see them and show your appreciation by supporting their businesses. Their support is critical to the success of the Omaha Community Playhouse!

Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience
Sponsored by: American Title, Inc. and Gale and Judy Wickersham
Media Sponsor: MeTV Omaha, KETV 7.2

Billy's Last Performance as Buddy in Rave On

Billy McGuigan will kick off his final Rave On tour as Buddy Holly at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Don't miss this monumental show!

Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience
June 8-24, 2012
Special Event in the Howard Drew Theatre

Written, directed and produced by Billy McGuigan
Musical Direction by Darren Pettit
Produced by Rave On Productions © 2007

Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience reinvents the ordinary tribute show with an electrifying, high-energy, rock n’ roll extravaganza featuring America’s premier Buddy Holly interpreter, Billy McGuigan! Backed by the rockin’ Rave On band, their incredible musicianship ignites the stage and breathes new life into the music of Buddy Holly!

In this rock and roll tour-de-force, audiences will experience all the thrills of a Buddy Holly concert re-imagined, which includes such hits as “Peggy Sue,” “That’ll Be the Day,” “Oh Boy” and of course, “Rave On.” In a unique twist, Billy as ‘Buddy celebrates the birth of an era and pays homage to fellow rockers Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper.

Tickets are $38 or $32 for groups of 15 or more. For more information or tickets, call (402) 553-0800 or visit the OCP Box Office.

Sponsored by: American Title, Inc. and Gale & Judy Wickersham

Summer Sponsors Support OCP!

The Playhouse is rocking this summer with two special musical events: Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience and The Official Blues Brothers Revue. OCP would like to thank and recognize these show sponsors who help underwrite the those costs not covered by ticket sales. Please thank these generous donors if you see them, or patronize their businesses. Their support is pivotal to the success of the Omaha Community Playhouse!

Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience
Sponsored by: Security National Bank

The Official Blues Brothers Revue
Sponsored by: University of Nebraska Medical Center
Media Sponsor: KGOR

For more information on how you or your business can become a show sponsor, contact Alena Furlong, Development Director, at (402) 553-4890, ext. 127 or afurlong@omahaplayhouse.com.

Beck looks Back...Billy McGuigan's start as Buddy Holly

Carl Beck, artistic director at the Omaha Community Playhouse, remembers Billy McGuigan from a time when McGuigan was in high school, auditioning for a part in a musical at the Omaha Community Playhouse. The audition was so memorable, that even though McGuigan was not cast, Beck said to himself, “don’t forget this kid." Beck promptly wrote down McGuigan's name and stuck it in a drawer. During a passing conversation years later, Beck discovered that McGuigan had quit acting to focus on starting a band. When OCP was slated to put on a production of the jukebox musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story in 2002, director Carl Beck remembered a young man with the charisma and singing talent the character of Buddy Holly demands. He thought, “We have got to check this guy out.”

Before long, Beck found McGuigan and brought him in for a meeting, explaining the role and asking for an audition. McGuigan's band was playing a show at Dubs Pub (currently The Waiting Room Lounge) located at 6212 Maple Street in Benson, and Beck offered to use the performance as an audition. Beck knew before the set list was done that this was the man to play Buddy Holly.



Intensive training sessions began the summer before production, where Billy and the cast making up the band used their free time to come into OCP and practice in the basement, working to recreate the sound of Buddy Holly’s music. McGuigan was a perfect example of a triple threat performer, with the ability to act, sing and dance, and evolved musically throughout the entire period of production.

During one of the first performances of Buddy, a tornado warning interrupted the show and herded the audience members, reviewers and cast downstairs to the Omaha Community Playhouse’s basement. To keep the audience engaged and entertained, the cast struck up some tunes and continued the Buddy Holly show music downstairs. Beck reflected that when the warning was over, everyone went right back upstairs to “continue the party.”

McGuigan has grown tremendously since first being cast as Buddy Holly, including developing the tribute shows Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience, Yesterday and Today, an interactive concert experience that pays tribute to The Beatles and Rock Legends.



For a look at Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience, check out this promotional video!

Don’t miss Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience in the Howard Drew Theatre, June 10-26, Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $38, all seats reserved. For groups of 15 or more, tickets are $32.

To purchase tickets, or for more information, call (402) 553-0800, or visit the box office located at the southeast corner of the Omaha Community Playhouse at 6915 Cass St. or click here.

Article by Deborah Trecek

All pictures courtesy of the Omaha Community Playhouse: 2002 production of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story