Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 20, 1994 TAG: 9410210020
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN L. DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This production, mounted in cooperation with The Barter Theatre of Abingdon, is a must-see for the 1994-95 season at Center in the Square. It is one of those rare theater events that is truly experienced, rather than merely watched.
So moved was the opening night audience that the two-woman cast received a 15-minute-long standing ovation through the final three musical numbers. If there were any non-Patsy Cline fans among the crowd, they were surely country music converts by the evening's end.
The play, written and directed by Ted Swindley, is a storytelling piece that provides insightful glimpses into Cline's marriage, family and road life. The story, as told to the audience in the present by Cline's friend and fan, Louise Segar, is interwoven with 23 songs from Cline's career.
Joy Johnson of Delray Beach, Fla., is incredibly funny as Segar, a colorful, homespun character who recalls her once-in-a-lifetime chance meeting with Cline at a Houston honky-tonk roadhouse. Afterward, Segar invites the singer to her home for breakfast. The two stay up late exchanging girl-talk secrets and, by morning, they have cemented an unusual friendship that endures until Cline's untimely death in a plane crash.
Cline and Segar kept in touch through letters and phone calls. Near the play's end, Segar reads the actual words from a letter Cline wrote to her and signed, ``Always ... Patsy Cline.''
Rusty Rae plays a buxom Patsy Cline with a voice as rich and resonant as the original Virginia-born legend's. Although Rae cannot quite dip to some of the low notes Cline could reach, her spine-tingling renditions of certain numbers, such as ``I Fall To Pieces,'' ``Crazy'' and ``Sweet Dreams,'' capture that same heartfelt edge that made Cline a timeless legend.
While Johnson delivers colorful monologues, Rae's dialogue is always in song. Her voice is her music, as was Patsy Cline's. She is accompanied by a well-tuned and costumed country band - piano, drums, pedal steel guitar, guitar and bass - that is always on stage and is an integral part of each vignette.
The multipurpose set, with various sections representing Segar's kitchen, Patsy's bandstand and the honky-tonk where they met, never changes throughout the two acts. Cline's costumes change at least a dozen times, however, from cowgirl boots to tailored suits, cleverly symbolizing her progression as a performer.
The worst that can be said about this superbly well-conceived and well-performed theatrical venture is that a wonderful evening of entertainment simply ends too soon. Don't miss it.
``Always ... Patsy Cline'' continues through Oct. 30 at Mill Mountain Theatre before moving on to The Barter Theatre in Abingdon. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 342-5740.
by CNB