Review of Bud, Not Buddy by Lisa and her children, ages 10 & 14

“When a door closes another one opens”……such is the over-riding theme in Bud, Not Buddy, the story of a very rambunctious young boy on the search for his father.

The play was totally different than what I expected. This play is performed from Bud’s head and the characters, especially Bud, switch back and forth from talking in the first person to talking in the third person. It therefore is much more abstract than anticipated. While my 14 year old could follow it well, my 10 year old took some parts more literally than intended and some conversations just went over his head. My 10 year old was much more impressed with some of the special effects (i.e. strobe lights) and liked the story line about the mom…”because she was a loving mom like mine” (Awwwwww, what a nice boy) .

My daughter liked the story as well, but thought younger kids would have trouble following it. Also she said, sometimes it was hard to hear what the actors were saying due to the sound being low or muffled at times. I agreed with her on that part and missed several lines because of this. She said she would recommend it to her friends.

Overall though, the play is a great story. As an adult, it meant more to me, I think, as I understood all the abstract/metaphoric/third party references and appreciated the jazz music that drove the piece as bud’s search for his father went on.

The ending was inspirational and emotional at the same time. The young man who plays Bud is fabulous and holds the stage well (How did he learn all those lines…amazing!!) Worth seeing as a family with older children or as an adult who wants a fun, inspiring story.