Brendan Peyper (21) has been cast as Buddy Holly in Lefra Productions’ new musical Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story.
The show is written by well-known West End author Alan James and will be on stage at Emperors Palace’s Theatre of Marcellus from May 15 to June 10.
Frans Swart, the producer and director of Buddy, says he is thrilled that Brendan has agreed to play Buddy.
“I have been watching Brendan for quite a while now, and he is incredibly talented.
“At the first photo session, we put black-framed spectacles on him and gave him a guitar, and bam! there was Buddy Holly right before my eyes.”
Swart says that although Buddy was only 23 when he died, “he was actually the pioneer of rock ’n’ roll.
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“In his brief life, he wrote more hits than many other singers.
“One only has to think of songs like Peggy Sue, That’ll be the day, Oh Boy, Maybe Baby, True Love Ways, and Heartbeat to be reminded of his contribution to the world of music,” he says.
“It is wonderful to be able to bring this West End musical to South Africa again to celebrate the life and talent of Buddy Holly.
“It’s the most successful musical in the world, remember – more than 25 million people worldwide have seen it.
“Of course the most important aspect of the musical is that it’s the party of the year.”
Brendan is in seventh heaven to have been chosen as the new Buddy.
“I couldn’t believe my ears when Frans called me and asked if I would like to play the lead in Buddy.
“I was in a total flat spin – I’ve never acted on stage, and I didn’t even know who Buddy was.”
But the young Brendan has learned quickly who Buddy Holly was and about the huge role he played as the front-runner of rock ’n’ roll as a music genre.
“Once I realised how big the production is and what a wonderful challenge it is, I jumped at the opportunity,” Brendan says.
“I have been getting voice coaching to help me master the South American accent of Buddy Holly.
“Phillru van Achterbergh is my coach, and I have to say, he is brilliant.
“It’s great to learn the language of movie aliens – and I’m getting there.
“Rehearsals began last week, and honestly, it’s been the most amazing jamming ever.”
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Brendan Peyper has been taking the SA music scene by storm since he became famous almost overnight with his first single, Stop, wag, bly nog ’n bietjie, which got more than a quarter of a million views on YouTube.
He is a splendid rugby player who studied sound engineering at the University of the Free State before deciding to make his love of music his first priority.
“Music is my everything, and it is my heart’s desire to touch and change people’s hearts through music,” Brendan says.
Well-known Saranti Rheeders is the musical director.
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