by Cori Hilsgen
news@thenewsleaders.com
A musical about Bobby Vee will be performed from Oct. 1-30 at the History Theatre in St. Paul.
Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story was written by Bob Beverage in collaboration with Vee’s sons, Jeff and Tommy Vee, and is directed by Ron Peluso. George Maurer, who has been Vee’s musical arranger for many years, provides musical direction and arrangements for the production.
The production follows the life of 15-year-old Bobby Velline who charmed audiences at the Winter Dance Party in Moorhead on Feb. 3, 1959, when local talent was asked to fill in after Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper were killed that same day in a plane crash.
Vee, as he became known by, became a teen idol appearing on American Bandstand with Dick Clark, as well as grew to be an international star entertaining audiences with Top 40 hits. From 1959-70, he produced 38 Top 100 hits, including many certified as gold records.
From his first hit single, “Suzie Baby,” in Minneapolis, Vee’s musical journey included performances with pop stars like Little Anthony and The Imperials, Ronnie and The Ronnettes, Dion and Del Shannon.
The musical honors many of those artists including Del Shannon, Little Anthony of The Imperials, Ronny of The Ronettes, Dion, Leonard Nimoy, Bob Dylan, Shirley of The Shirelles and Chubby Checker.
The musical is also a story about the love between Vee and his wife, Karen, who died in 2015 after receiving a lung transplant about three years before. It also is a life story and moves through the later years with joys and hardships.
Jeff and Tommy Vee said in a press release that the play is a window in a special time in the history of rock ‘n’ roll and in American pop culture – rooted right here in the Midwest, the place where their parents were so proud to call home.
The Vee brothers toured with and managed their father’s late career and said it has been an exciting ride.
Besides being Bobby Vee’s fans because he was their father, they said the fact he was a “multi-million record-selling rock ‘n’ roll star is something else entirely.”
The brothers said the fact their father managed to be the same sweet person through all of this is his greatest achievement and in their view it clearly comes across in the production.
Jeff Vee said they were approached by Beverage and Peluso about the play more than two years ago. They liked the theater’s mission of “real stories about real people in Minnesota” because it stressed the importance of accurate history, as well as entertaining and compelling theater.
They began the process shortly thereafter, doing interviews with many people close to their father and piecing the story together. They said their father’s story is unique, and there is much people do not know.
“We lost our mother just over a year midway through the process,” Jeff Vee said. “Dad, of course, is in memory care and cannot participate at this point.”
When reflecting on the musical, the brothers said it was cathartic and therapeutic to journey back in time through their family’s personal history, which connects to the special memories of generations of music fans spanning the world.
“Our goals and hopes for this project were to celebrate their legacy, to make them proud, and in a sense, to keep them alive,” Jeff Vee said. “We do feel like we have accomplished that. I am certain that family, friends, fans and even casual theater-goers will be touched by the production and take a few pieces with them when they leave.”
At the first reading of the musical script, they said it was hard to keep dry eyes. They had just lived the latter part of the story and to see it come to life again was like a bittersweet dream.
Jeff Vee said the show is full of phenomenal music by their father and many of his contemporaries.
For Baby Boomers, they hope the production will be an exciting trip down memory lane, and for all else a fun and touching rock ‘n’ roll history lesson.
“We were blessed to have them, and so fortunate to have the memories that remain for all time,” the Vee brothers said in a production reflection release. “It is an honor to share this story with all as a part of the Minnesota History Theatre’s 2016-17 season. Everyone should be so lucky as to celebrate their family history on the stage. We hope these memories inspire and know our parents would be proud.”
In recent years, Vee was involved in production of various musical projects at his Rockhouse Recording Studio in St. Joseph.
He retired in 2011 after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease but performed at various retirement shows, including Joetown Rocks during the St. Joseph Parish Festival Fourth of July. Joetown Rocks is an annual event Vee and his sons were instrumental in establishing as a town tradition.
Vee also recorded music with his family in Tucson, Ariz., known as The Adobe Sessions, which is available on CD.
Vee has another son, Rob; one daughter, Jennifer; three daughters-in-law; one son-in-law and five grandchildren.
Ticket prices for the musical range from $10 for children to $37-$52 for adults. Discounts are offered for seniors, students and groups of 10 or more.
The History Theatre is located at 30 E. 10th St. in St. Paul.
For more information, visit historytheatre.com or call 651-292-4320.
The musical, “Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story,” will be performed from Oct. 1-30 at the History Theatre in St. Paul. It follows the life story of local resident Bobby Vee, (pictured in a 1960s photo) was written by Bob Beverage in collaboration with Vee’s sons, Jeff and Tommy Vee, and is directed by Ron Peluso.
The musical, “Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story,” also tells the love story of Bobby Vee and his wife, Karen, (pictured in an Aug. 29. 1963 photo). The musical will be performed from Oct. 1-30 at the History Theatre in St. Paul.
Bobby Vee performs at the 2010 Joetown Rocks concert. Vee’s family and Irene Linn’s family teamed up with local talent for a Rock for Alzheimer’s event on Sept. 24, 2016, at the Bad Habit Brewing Co. in St. Joseph to raise funds to try to find a cure for Alzheimer’s.
