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Sara Story shines as Patsy Cline in 'Always Patsy Cline' at the Wayside Theatre, Middletown. |
From Fredericksburg, the Wayside Theatre in Middletown is a 90-minute country cruise.
But it's the only proper place to see the revival of the Shenandoah Valley's own Patsy Cline--and it's one heck of a pretty drive.
Like the Wayside Theatre itself--in its 47th performance season--"Always Patsy Cline" is a snapshot of a bygone time and place. In this case, it's a Houston nightclub, where a 20-something Cline rolls into the city in the Lone Star State by her lonesome to find a friendly and eager host in a local woman.
It's based on the true story of Cline's run-in with super-fan Louise Seger, a working Houston single mother in the early 1960s who gets her daily dose of Cline through compulsory phone requests dialed like clockwork to a local deejay with a deep Texan drawl.
The production focuses on the music of Cline, with little allowance for more detailed plot development.
Cline (Sara K. Story) and Seger (Thomasin Savaiano) are the only actors in the musical, though an absence is hardly felt. The show trades a larger cast for a sharp live quintet to keep the beat for Story, an adept Cline impressionist.
To bring a talent like Cline back to life--especially minutes from Winchester, her hometown, where critics would be harshest--is a daunting task, but Story steps up to the challenge. She deftly handles the sound and the mature, dig-nified feminine essence that Cline's legacy brings to mind.
Many in attendance at Sunday's performance remember and cherish the days of the Nashville sound.
They might have felt the first sparks of teenage love to "Walkin' After Midnight" and fallen to pieces over "She's Got You."
Through this show and Story's performance, they have a rare chance to relive it. As the intermission chatter confirmed: "She sounds just like her!"
Seger, perhaps because the part is written that way, is over the top--too abundantly chirpy and energetic. Though the script tells us that Cline and Seger bond over the woes of bad husbands and motherhood worries, the show is without the dramatic connection to cultivate that idea.
Seger's aloofness and pro-pensity to yap, dance, swoon and swing her hips while Cline belts ballads is an annoyance, but the basis of the storyline. Her excitement over every move and sound to come from her celebrity crush is distracting, and the rapport between the two falls short.
Though character development is a test for many mus-icals, in a show with a two-deep cast roster it could have been stronger.
"Always Patsy Cline" is the first performance at Wayside since it closed for about 16 months due to renovations costing more than $650,000.
Patrons walk past subtle reminders of the high cost of maintaining a local theater while they go to and from their seats. Notes like "New lighting grid: $26,540" and "New roof support and beams: $41,400" are posted along the aisles.
At the Wayside Theatre, for now, if not always, we can still find Patsy Cline--or at least an easy-to-enjoy tribute.
Shayna Jacobs: 540/374-5000, ext.5617
Email: sjacobs@freelancestar.com
| What: "Always Patsy Cline" Where: Wayside Theatre, Middletown When: Through Aug. 30, Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Cost: $23-$28 adults; $10 children Info: waysidetheatre.org |
