BWW Reviews: Beck Belts Tunes of Legend in A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE

As Patsy would say, God bless Heather J. Beck. "That girl can sing!" The songstress renders an uncanny vocal portrait of the country music legend up on the Broadway Palm stage in the early summer revue "A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline." She's "Crazy" good.

And God bless Chuck Caruso. The Broadway Palm veteran keeps plugging away at the cornball script and launching moth-balled jokes. Possibly a bad crowd, but the oddball humor lands flat. Still, Caruso delivers a show unto himself as a radio announcer and glitzy Vegas announcer; the groaner jokes - and waves of laughter - come free.

One of the two Patsy Cline shows approved by the singer's estate, "A Closer Walk" is little more than a catalog of the singer's greatest hit backed by costume changes and a live band. By way of a "story," the show frames action with a Virginia DJ playing a Patsy Cline special.

Beck, an Equity actress hired for the role, has played Patsy previously. And she will again - if Broadway (or Nashville) doesn't snatch her first.

Find that copy of "Crazy" stashed in your iTunes. Listen to the timbre in Patsy's voice, the way she pulls you toward her - and then cradles the sadness of the song with every note. "Crazy" clocks in under three minutes - but it feels like forever.

Beck has that kind of a voice - but different. The amplification gives her more power - not that she needs it. When the songbird takes up the microphone, a velvet cocoon wraps the space; a rich, chocolately, deeply talented instrument reproduces those iconic songs.

The voice of an angel. The voice of a star. A voice to rival the icon she's portraying. Not enough to truly overcome the inadequate (if non-existent) script that strings together songs in supremely random fashion.

The audience adored the show; they were on their feet before Beck was halfway across the stage for her bows. I loved her voice - and Caruso's over-the-top hamminess and true love for the dreadful material - but found the show lacking in substance. Any substance. So, you're going to love it. Especially the voices.

Chris Silk is the arts writer and theater critic for the Naples Daily News. To read the longer version of this review, go to: http://www.gonaples.com/news/2013/jun/07/review-broadway-palm-a-closer-walk-patsy-cline/.

To post a comment, you must register and login.