By Judi Straughan
John Devorski, who has travelled the world performing in
musicals and dramas for more than twenty years, has returned to
the place where it all began: Sudbury.  Devorski is here
performing in the Sudbury Theatre Centre's rock'n'roll musical
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story where he plays Hipockets Duncan,
the radio announcer who first believed in Buddy Holly's musical
talents.   
For Devorski, returning to the Sudbury Theatre Centre is, in a
way, like slipping into an old pair of slippers: comfortable,
familiar and oh so nostalgic.
In 1987, a fresh-faced Devorski had the women flocking to see
him in his thigh-hugging dark green velvet costume in A
Midsummer Night's Dream with STC's first Artistic Director,
Tony Lloyd. Each time Devorski stepped onto the stage, the room
temperature went up.
"Tony was pivotal in my career," Devorski says.  "He gave
me confidence and challenged me to go on to the next level of
acting.   Without doing Carousel at STC first in
1988, I never would have gotten the lead role at Stratford."
Now, twenty years later, he's back and as passionate as
ever. 
"Audiences are going to love this show.  For the baby
boomers, it's their music. And the kids today know Buddy Holly
music because they're still playing it on the radio. 
Buddy is so big he is almost mythical. He wrote 50 songs in 18
months and performed for only three years.  One can only
imagine what would have been if he'd lived on."
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story tells the story of Buddy's
all-too-brief musical career while showcasing some of his
hottest hits:  "Ready Teddy", "Maybe Baby", "That'll be
the Day", "It's So Easy", "Oh Boy", "Peggy Sue" and more.
Devorski, who has been in five previous Buddy Holly
productions, says that the show's energy is infectious. 
"You can feel a palpable surge in the audience when Buddy and
the Crickets play the Apollo Theatre at the end of Act 1. 
Everyone wants to get up and dance from that moment on. 
Then Act 2 has the mega concert at Clear Lake with Richie
Valens and the Big Bopper.  It's dynamite. You don't want
the show to end."  Those wanting to be a part of the
excitement should act now, since Devorski warns that Buddy
shows typically sell out.  "As soon as the first week is
over and the word spreads, you can't get a seat." 
When asked about Christian Bellsmith who plays Buddy Holly,
Devorski says, "When you listen to Christian's voice, you can
hear Buddy- there's no mistake. When he puts on those glasses,
he looks like Buddy, has the Buddy energy and mannerisms…well,
you just can't help but buy into it.  He even has that
pure Buddy Holly naiveté in his performance."
Bellsmith was given a big two-thumbs up as Buddy from Toronto
Star theatre critic Richard Ouzounian who said that he
"radiates that beaming boyish charm and incandescent love of
performing that made Holly such a star in his all-too-brief-
career" (Toronto Star: July 2006).
When Bellsmith is on stage, he is Buddy Holly and no one in the
audience is about to dispute it.  Take Devorski at this
word: Bellsmith is Buddy Brilliant and the show is an
experience you'll never forget.
Playing May 1 to 25.
Some shows already sold out.
Judi Straughan is the education coordinator with the Sudbury Theatre Centre.
