By Sabina Clarke
Country singer Patsy Cline was just 30 years old when she died in a plane crash 59 years ago on March 5th, 1963.
She was on her way home from a benefit concert in Kansas City, Kansas with fellow performers Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas—all three perished in a private plane piloted by her manager. Yet, her music and legend live on and are brilliantly captured in the Walnut Street Theater’s production Always…Patsy Cline.
Jenny Lee Stern who plays Patsy Cline is phenomenal; it was as if she channeled Patsy Cline. She danced, she acted, and at one point she did a backbend. She had so much energy and sass and attitude; she was hard and rough and soft and sensitive alternating between each aspect of Patsy Cline’s character effortlessly and with aplomb.
It seemed as if we were watching the best version of Patsy Cline—that is how powerful Stern’s voice is; with each song she teased out the high notes and the low notes and the nuances–she hit all the notes.
After every song –and she had a satisfying repertoire—including the hit songs: Crazy, I Fall to Pieces, She’s Got You, Walkin’ After Midnight, Sweet Dreams…and more, there were hoots and howls from the appreciative audience.
Stern’s connection to the crowd—a packed house—reminded me of the rare quality some performers have—like Judy Garland’s concert at Carnegie Hall— to bond emotionally with and totally captivate an audience.
Her co-star Rebecca Robbins who portrayed Patsy Cline’s fan turned manager was funny and playful; and at times she danced on the stage with Stern or sang with her in a duet. Her portrayal was light and effortless and totally likeable; her character was essential to the narrative.
The set, the lighting, the costumes and the sound were all perfection. The band accompanying all Patsy Cline songs was outstanding and on stage throughout the production.
Directed by Debi Marcucci and originally created and directed by Ted Swindley, this is a production you do not want to miss. If you love Patsy Cline’s music or even if you are meeting her for the first time, you will leave the theatre humming her tunes.