Metro Pulse/Backstage/Always... Patsy Cline

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What:
Always... Patsy Cline

When:
Thru Sept. 13.

Where:
Clarence Brown Theatre

Cost:
Call 974-5161 for dates, times and tickets

Patsy Cline musical bio brings tears and laughter

by Paige M. Travis

Songs about lost love are never more painful and true than when a woman is in the throes of heartbreak. In happier times, she can deflect the hurtful effects of verses like "I've got these little things, she's got you" and "Why can't I forget the past...instead of having sweet dreams about you," like Wonder Woman casting off bullets with her magic bracelets. On a good day, the very real emotions in love-gone-wrong songs are just a faint memory or a vague premonition. Songs like "Crazy," "She's Got You" and "Sweet Dreams" are nice to catch on the oldies station or on a mix tape, but they don't ring true until a woman's smack in the middle of lovelorn misery. This is when a woman relates to Patsy Cline the most.

As much as the musical revue Always... Patsy Cline is about the star's life and the songs she made famous, it's also about the thing that can keep a woman from giving up hope when a romance is over: friendship. The Clarence Brown Theatre's production is a tribute to a great singer and an introduction to the delightful character of Louise Seger.

Seger, a Texas housewife, had been a fan of Patsy Cline for years when the singer came through Houston in 1961. She rustled her boyfriend and some coworkers to the club early, spied Patsy during sound check and invited her over to their table. The two women—both divorcees with young children—bonded instantly and became correspondents.

Alecia White's Louise, decked out in a big red hairdo and tight leopard print capri pants, is a spunky firecracker— funky, feisty and pure Texas. Even a woman saddened by life's disappointments could perk up around this gal. She's got a sassy comeback for everything, and a list of Reasons Men Suck ready at a moment's notice. If the real Louise was as fun as White, it's no wonder Patsy took a liking to her. Far from her home in Nashville, and even farther from her hometown of Winchester, Va., Patsy could use a down-to-earth friend to make her laugh and feel less alone.

According to various biographies, Patsy Cline wasn't always the most even-tempered person. Born in 1932, Cline sang professionally from the time she was 14 and had her fair share of drama. She was married, divorced, and remarried with some affairs in between. She didn't write her own songs, but her voice reveals her understanding. The star's untimely death in 1963 makes her songs and her story even more tragic.

As Patsy Cline, actress Teresa Williams' biggest role is as a singer. But in her moments of acting—as she scouts out the Houston nightclub and later sits at Louise's kitchen table—Williams suggests a darker side of the star without making her seem completely bipolar. Ted Swindley's play is sympathetic towards Cline, but the character takes a back seat to the voice. Through the show's 26 songs, Williams embodies the many styles of Patsy Cline—fancy in an evening gown, fun-loving in a green and orange cowboy outfit—and she croons the ballads and belts out the foot-stompers. Williams' sings all her hits, some hits of the era and two traditional gospel numbers. At times her voice evokes Cline's, but she never tries for the karaoke-style imitation. Williams is too good a singer to settle for impersonation; her own voice elicits plenty of goosebumps.

Since the CBT presented Always...Patsy Cline in 1999, this encore edition needed to set itself apart. Williams has returned in the lead role, but White (a third-year MFA student at UT) is new, and the set is even better than before; the combined talents of set designer Carl Tallent, lighting designer Joshua Hamrick and sound designer Mike Ponder are put to spectacular use. The stage is framed by the colorful arc of a giant jukebox. As the songs and the moods shift, the glowing bars change from bright blues to glowing reds and oranges, frequently coordinating or contrasting with Patsy's outfit or the colors in the background. The ever-changing colors create a sense of movement that keeps the sense of action going, even as Patsy just stands there singing.

More than just a stage version of a VH-1's Behind the Music, Always...Patsy Cline is a portrait of a friendship, a special encounter, a small slice of a star's too-short life. Part of the play's appeal is the fantasy of getting to hang out with a star, becoming friends with someone you admire. But it's also a story about just plain folks, women who understand each other despite their different lifestyles. And then there's the exhilaration of hearing songs like "I Fall To Pieces" and "Back in Baby's Arms." You may not have heard them in years, but they are renewed by Williams' thrilling voice. And wacky, vivacious Louise holds it all together. Without her, Cline's story would be too sad. But that just goes to show you how, with friends like Louise along for the ride, heartache is just a bump in the road.