Written by Ben Cox – The Lyric Theatre is preparing to raise the curtain, and drop the needle as it were on it’s latest production: Always, Patsy Cline.
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Starring Jill Evans as the titular Cline and Holli Blanton as her pen pal and biggest fan Louise Seger, the show is not your typical musical. Commonly referred to as a “Jukebox Musical” this show features 27 songs sung by Cline during her lifetime, including “Crazy”, “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “I Fall to Pieces”, and many more.
Based on the true story of the unusual friendship between Patsy Cline and Houston housewife Louise Seger, the show begins in 1961 when through happenstance Seger meets her idol before a concert. Cline ends up staying the night at Seger’s home and the two stay friends until Cline’s death in 1963.
Evans, who has been in Lyric performances since the very first one in 2004, grew up listening to the music of Ms Cline and remembers with great fondness the memories these songs evoke. “My father, who passed away last September, would always sing these songs while working on cars. We always listened to Patsy whenever we were doing anything with him. Either she was singing the songs, or daddy was, but we always listened to her music.”
Blanton, who has been in multiple Lyric shows herself, including this summer’s performances of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, is eager for audiences to experience the caliber of performance the Lyric is rapidly becoming known for. “You will find yourself lost in live theater. We have a small community but it has so much talent. It is truly a family up here. So many people come and fall in love with this place, I love seeing how many people come out that have never been here before!”
Rounded out by a live band, onstage at all times, the show promises to delight fans of Cline’s music as well as those who have never even heard her name before. Director Nancy Jo Humfeld, theater professor at Howard Payne, says this is a show she has been wanting to do for some time.
“I knew it would have a lot of public interest, and I thought it would be perfect for our folks here in Brownwood. A colleague of mine did this musical and he said that folks just loved it. It’s always been on the back burner, but it seemed like this was the year to do it. And with these lovely ladies, it’s gonna rock!”
The show opens on Friday the 21st, with four performances that weekend, with four more the following weekend, closing on the 30th. Tickets are available at the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce, or by visiting the theatre’s website.
Tickets are selling fast, so don’t wait and risk missing an opportunity to be entertained by a stellar cast in an amazing show. “Always, Patsy Cline” is sure to be another wonderful feather in the Lyric’s already beautifully feathered cap.
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