patsy

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Main Stage - Live Theatre

Always, Patsy Cline

written and originally directed by
TED SWINDLEY

Based on a true story

directed by
WENDY HALEY

April 17 - May 9, 2009

Always...Patsy Cline is based on the true story of Patsy Cline's friendship with Houston housewife Louise Seger.

Having first heard Cline on the Arthur Godfrey Show in 1957, Seger became an immediate and avid fan of Patsy Cline, and she constantly hounded the local disc jockey to play Cline's records on the radio.

In 1961, when Cline went to Houston for a show, Seger and her buddies arrived about an hour and a half early and, by coincidence, met Cline who was traveling alone. The two women struck up a friendship that lasted until Cline's untimely death in a plane crash in 1963.

The relationship, which began as fan worship and evolved into one of mutual respect, is the kind of relationship that many fans would like to have with their heroes.

Over a pot of strong coffee, the two women chatted about their common concerns. When Cline finally left for her next gig in Dallas, the two women exchanged addresses and telephone numbers. Seger never expected to hear from Cline again but, soon after she left, Seger received the first of many letters and phone calls from Cline. The pen-pal relationship provides much of the plot of the show.

The play focuses on the fateful evening at Houston's Esquire Ballroom in 1963 when Seger heard of Cline's death in a plane crash. Seger supplies a narrative while Cline floats in and out of the set singing the tunes that made her famous: Anytime, Walkin' After Midnight, She's Got You, Sweet Dreams, and Crazy, to name a few.

The show combines humor, sadness and reality. It offers fans who remember Cline while she was alive a chance to look back, while giving new fans an idea of what seeing her was like and what she meant to her original fans.

"Sweet dreams again"
USA Today

"A song-filled Valentine"
Los Angeles Times

"Always...Patsy Cline. Always a hit."
Biloxi Sun Herald