Photo
courtesy
of
Rony
Armas
|
GRAND
OLE
NOHO
Patsy
Cline
truly
came
to
life
on
the
stage
of
the
historic
and
majestic
El
Portal
Theater
(www.elportaltheatre.com)
on
Lankershim
Blvd.,
in
NoHo,
at
the
November
11th
premiere
of
Ted
Swindley’s
Always…Patsy
Cline. |
Always…Patsy
Cline
is
a
two-woman
show
about
the
life
of
country
music
singing
legend,
Patsy
Cline.
It
is
based
on
the
true
story
of
the
pre-show
meeting
(in
Houston,
Texas
dance
hall)
of
Patsy
and
fan,
Louise
Seger,
who
would
ultimately
become
one
of
her
closest
friends.
It
simultaneously
tells
her
life
story,
through
the
words
of
Louise,
and
displays
Patsy’s
tremendous
trademark
singing
style.
The
show
starred
Sally
Struthers
and
Christa
Jackson,
who,
together,
incidentally,
recently
completed
an
extended
run
of
this
show
at
the
prestigious
Coronet
Theatre
in
Los
Angeles.
Christa
Jackson’s
portrayal
of
Patsy
Cline
was
hauntingly
eerie
and
convincing.
She
not
only
looked
like
her,
through
the
many
vintage,
late
fifties,
early
sixties,
costume
changes
(thanks
to
Costume
Designer,
Carin
Jacobs),
and
carried
her
mannerisms,
but
she
actually
brought
members
of
the
audiences
to
tears
with
several
of
the
songs
performed.
The
audience
cheered
when
she
sang
“Crazy”,
penned
by
Willie
Nelson
and
melted
when
she
a
cappella
sang
“If
I
Could
See
The
World
(Through
The
Eyes
Of
A
Child)”,
by
Sammy
Masters
and
Richard
Pope.
Christa’s
voice
is
stunning,
rich
and
dripping
with
sexual
energy.
Her
portrayal
of
Patsy
Cline
left
the
listener
with
a
clear
understanding
of
exactly
why
Pasty
Cline
was
in
such
demand
in
her
day
and
why
her
recordings
still
are
so
popular
today.
But
it
also
left
the
listener
in
bewilderment
as
to
why
“Christa
Jackson”
is
not
(yet!)
a
household
word.
Sally
Struthers’
portrayal
of
Louise
Seger
was
hilarious.
Of
course,
she
is
an
American
legend
and
well-known
for
her
work
on
television
and
film,
but
she
displayed
an
incredible
ability
to
play
to
a
theatrical
audience
as
well.
Through
much
of
this
show,
the
part
of
Louise
Seger
is
really,
in
many
ways,
a
one-woman-show,
with
Patsy
singing
in
the
background
or
to
the
side
of
the
stage,
etc. But Sally carried this responsibility with the ease and
grace
of
a
seasoned
professional.
Her
wit
and
comedic
timing
kept
the
audiences
in
the
palm
of
her
hand.
In
the
second
act,
she
amazed
the
audience
by
singing
several
duets
with
Christa
Jackson.
Her
voice
was
a
brilliant
complement
to
Christa’s
and
by
the
end
of
the
show,
after
she
had
also
done
quite
a
bit
of
dancing,
her
performance
left
the
audience
with
the
question
of
“Is
there
anything
that
Sally
Struthers
cannot
do?”
In
the
grand
tradition
of
shows
like
“Best
Little
Whorehouse
In
Texas”,
Always…Patsy
Cline,
keeps
its
band
in
full
view,
in
the
rear
center
of
the
stage,
and,
at
times,
the
band
even
interacts
with
the
story.
They
were
incredibly
tight
and
made
it
possible
for
Christa
Jackson
to
have
no
worries
for
the
evening.
Jay
Leach
is
listed,
in
the
program,
as
the
guitarist.
However,
he
not
only
played
the
daylights
out
of
his
country
guitar
but
he
played
a
mean
pedal
steel,
as
well.
On
bass
was
Nils
Johnson.
Not
only
did
he
play
upright
bass
but
he
also
doubled
on
electric
bass.
Together
with
drummer
Mark
Converse,
they
snapped
Saran-Wrap
around
their
tight
sound,
woven
together
with
piano
playing
by
David
Cohen. Cohen played an upright piano, seldom seen in this mouse
clicking
digital
post
Y2K
age,
and
the
piano
added
a
necessary
dimension
of
authenticity,
visually
and
musically.
Under
his
supervision,
the
music
was
pure
and
true
to
the
original
recordings.
The
band’s
sound
and
playing,
combined
with
Christa’s
singing,
Chris
Beyries’
set
design
and
Kim
Killingsworth’s
lighting
design
(their
efforts
took
the
scenes
from
the
Grand
Ole
Opry
to
Louise’s
kitchen),
made
it
difficult
for
the
audience
not
to
keep
slipping
in
and
out
of
a
40-year
porthole
throughout
the
show.
Patsy
Cline
was
tragically
killed
in
a
plane
crash
in
1963,
and
at
the
time,
she
was
one
of
the
most
popular
singers
in
the
country.
She
was
only
30
years
old.
This
show
is
a
warm
tribute
to
her
memory.
Always…Patsy
Cline
represents
the
first
collaborative
effort
between
Weddington
Street
Productions,
of
NoHo
(partners
Gary
Goodgame,
Bernard
Kaufman,
Pegge
Forrest
and
Jay
Irwin),
and
the
Ovation
Award-Winning
Civic
Light
Opera
of
South
Bay
Cities’
executives
James
Blackman
and
Steven
Ullman. The San Fernando Valley Playhouse, a division of the Ovation
Award
winning
Civic
Light
Opera
of
South
Bay
Cities
and
the
Hermosa
Beach
Playhouse,
will
launch
its
initial
season
of
shows
in
February
2004.
Shows
scheduled
for
the
2004
season
are:
Love
Letters,
Fully
Committed,
Catechism
II
and
Around
the
World
in
A
Bad
Mood.
(For
information
call
310-372-4477).
Now,
stick
in
a
Patsy
Cline
CD
and
let
her
voice
surround
and
slay
you.
If
you
don’t
have
a
Patsy
Cline
CD
(shame
on
you!),
then
go
buy
one
right
now.
(Original
cast
album
of
Always…Patsy
Cline
is
available
on
MCA
CDs
and
cassettes.)
Copyright
2003
Scott
Detweiler.
All
Rights
Reserved.
Scott
Detweiler
is
an
accomplished
musician
in
his
own
rite
and
has
just
released
his
fifth
CD.
For
more
details,
log
on
to
www.detweilermusic.com,
or
write
to
scottdetweiler@aol.com.
|
|
