Patsy Cline’s meteoric career encompassed many firsts: first woman to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, first to tour as a lead act, first to headline in Las Vegas, first female country singer to perform at Carnegie Hall.
This all happened within the short span of six years: from her debut in 1957 until her 1963 death in an airplane crash at the age of 30. We can only speculate about what she might have achieved had she survived. Even so, her glorious honey-toned voice and prodigious output of classic country and popular songs earned her permanence in the pantheon of American music.
She has been widely imitated but never equaled, but Danielle DeBow gets as close as is perhaps humanly possible in “Always, Patsy Cline” at Sonoma Arts Live through July 29. A play-with-music about Cline’s enduring friendship with a fan named Louise Seger (the fantastic Karen Pinomaki), the story follows from their meeting at a honky-tonk club in Houston, through Cline’s career until her untimely death at the age of thirty.
“Always, Patsy Cline” is as near-perfect a production as can be imagined. It’s an absolute must-see.
Playwright Ted Swindley developed the piece from letters between the two. In that sense it is the truest of true stories and an abiding celebration of the power of deep friendship. It’s also hilariously funny. The intensely animated Pinomaki is absolutely convincing as both rabid fan and self-deprecating Texan.
She propels the narrative while DeBow melts the audience with Cline’s heart-wrenching songs, backed by the superb onstage Bodacious Bobcat Band and a four-man group appearing as The Jordanaires, legendary background singers who performed with Elvis Presley, among others. The ideally-cast and totally harmonious foursome include stage veterans Sean O”Brien, F. James Raasch, Michael Scott Wells, and Ted von Pohle.
Director Michael Ross (who also handled costume design and shared set design with Theo Bridant) has put together a show that is far beyond the very high level of performance that Bay Area theater fans have grown to expect. The pity is that it closes after an unjustifiably short run. With the wine country tourist season in full flower, this show could run all summer long to sold-out houses. It’s that good.
‘Always, Patsy Cline’ is as near-perfect a production as can be imagined. It’s an absolute must-see.
ASR Theater Section Editor and Senior Contributor Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle.
| Production | My Fair Lady! |
|---|---|
| Written by | Book by Alan Jay Lerner. Music and Lyrics by Lerner & Frederick Loewe. |
| Directed by | Michael Ross |
| Producing Company | Sonoma Arts Live |
| Production Dates | Thru July 28th |
| Production Address | Rotary Stage: Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center 276 E. Napa Street, Sonoma |
| Website | www.sonomaartslive.org |
| Telephone | 866-710-8942 |
| Tickets | $25 – $40 |
| Reviewer Score | Max in each category is 5/5 |
| Overall | 5/5 |
| Performance | 5/5 |
| Script | 5/5 |
| Stagecraft | 5/5 |
| Aisle Seat Review Pick? | YES! |