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WASHINGTON COUNTY ARTS GUIDE MARCH – MAY 2013
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The unlikely friendship between country music legend Patsy Cline and
her fan Louise Seger is proof that not all fan mail goes unanswered. Seger
met Cline before her show at a Texas Honky-tonk in 1961, and the two women
continued a friendship through letter correspondence from that day forward.
Cline signed each letter the same: “Always...Patsy Cline.”
Both women have since passed away, but the memory of their friendship
lives on in the musical named for Cline’s trademark sign-off. After a sold-out
run in 2009, the Broadway Rose Theater in Tigard will be staging “Always...
Patsy Cline” for the second time this spring.
Following its first production of the twang-infused show, the Broadway
Rose received many requests for a reprise. According to marketing director
Alan Andersen, the show struck a chord for those who knew and loved
Cline’s music.
“It wasn’t uncommon for me to watch, as she would launch into a new
song, a husband put his arm around his wife,” he says. “It brought back
memories for people.”
Harris, who directed the first show, will fly in from New York to direct
again. He says he keeps coming back for the supportive community at the
Broadway Rose. “I enjoy working with such a well-run organization that
trusts the directors it hires — in my experience, a rare thing,” he says.
Also returning for the production are Alabama native Sarah Catherine
Wheatley as Patsy Cline, and Broadway Rose’s artistic director and founder
Sharon Maroney as Louise Seger. With the same two-person cast from the
first production on board, Harris doesn’t expect many changes.
“I’m pretty sure the technology
we use will be more advanced and
we’ve all hopefully grown as artists
since then,” he says. “But the
formula is essentially the same: we
go into a rehearsal room and laugh
a lot and cry a little, then we move
it to the stage and open the doors
so lots of people can laugh a lot
and cry a little.”
Wheatley, who first played
Cline in college, was initially
intimidated by the role. “It was so
scary to think about singing the
music of such an icon,” she recalls.
But once she got started, she
couldn’t get enough. This will be
Wheatley’s third time playing
Cline, and her love for the country
music star is deeper than ever.
“Patsy Cline has touched so
many people,” she says. “This
music moves people and I always
feel so blessed to have the opportunity to sing it and share it.”
“Always...Patsy Cline” will run from April 18th through May 19th. For
tickets and show times, visit www.broadwayrose.org.
– Emily Jensen
Alabama native Sarah Catherine Wheatley
reprises her role as singing-legend Patsy Cline.
You don’t have to be ‘country’ to love Cline
FAN LETTERS INSPIRE ‘ALWAYS’