BWW Reviews: A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE Takes Allenberry To Early Nashville

Patsy Cline is arguably America's most popular female singer, ever, and she's without doubt one of its most legendary. Britney, Ke$ha and the rest of the current needs-only-one-name lineup, even Madonna, haven't had the overwhelming impact of Patsy (or "the Cline" as she called herself to friends), the most famous export of Winchester, Virginia, the performer who standardized upfront performance payments, or "no dough, no show," with promoters. That, like Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, she died tragically young in a plane crash has only added to the mythology about her. She was the first female country music headliner, the first woman in country music to have top billing over male performers, and yet she was a huge success on the pop charts, even appearing live on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," by no means a country-music-supporting show.

That she's the one who gave us "Crazy" is nothing to sneeze at, either, but we don't always appreciate just what Patsy Cline did for women in music, for performers' rights against show promoters, or for the invention of the crossover artist. There may be no other artist besides Elvis Presley that both country music and popular music can both claim as their own.

If anyone were destined to be the subject of a jukebox musical, it's Patsy Cline - in fact, she's the subject of more than one. Created by Dean Regan, who's also given us RED ROCK DINER and FOREVER SWING, A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE, the biggest of the Patsy Cline musicals, is currently in production at Allenberry Playhouse, directed by Dennis McKeen, who also stars in it as narrator and fictional Winchester disc jockey "Little Big Man."

The most important thing in any production of this show is, simply, "Who's singing Patsy?" You can't ask who's playing Patsy - as with any cult icon, no one can really be her; they can only emulate her; they can try to bring her music to life. The worst thing that can be done in such shows is merely to carry out a slavish impression, which is bound to disappoint in some way. Nancy O'Bryan avoids the pitfall neatly - she adopts a Cline persona while still being herself. And there's a lot of "herself" to be; her vocal range is amazing, and her talent's evident. A Georgia belle herself despite her having traveled widely and now living in California, there's no need for her to put on a phony drawl to be a good ole Virginia gal. It's not precisely a Virginia sound, but it's a real one, and it works.

And O'Bryan can act. One might wonder where the acting lies in a show in which the star performer only walks out after narrations and sings, then exiting the stage, but A CLOSER WALK covers Cline from her teens to her thirties, and a poor performance of this show neglects to recognize the changes in Cline's - in any woman's - life from her teen years through developing and maturing adulthood. The woman who performed at Carnegie Hall, to acerbic writer Dorothy Kilgallen's dismay, did not have the exuberant gawkiness of a teen in front of her first microphone, and O'Bryan works her way through those age changes physically as well as by change of costume. It's a nice display of acting strength to be able to pull that off.

McKeen plays the quintessentiAl Small-town DJ in Little Big Man - he spins platters, answers phone calls, sings the commercial pitches, does the weather forecast. He rhapsodizes about the star who came from his town, the one he knew back when she was just getting started, the one who still goes to her concerts because he knew her when. He also has the more difficult task of playing the opening-act comic for each of Cline's shows. In some productions, the comic changes costume and is likely a different character at each of the venues, the Grand Ole Opry clown not being the same man who does a slightly slicker version of the same act as a Vegas emcee. McKeen's made the directorial choice of being the same comedian at each venue, as if being someone who worked with Cline regularly at her shows. The concept works intellectually although it's perhaps not quite as effective in actual performance. McKeen is stronger as the disc jockey than he is as the comic, and as the comic, he's strongest in the opening skit at the Grand Ole Opry.

The show often features male backup vocalists for Patsy Cline, playing The Jordanaires, the gospel group who also backed Elvis Presley (and, surprisingly, Steve and Eydie). However, it can also be done without them, and that's the route taken here, with Patsy as a soloist. This leads to an interesting phenomenon - when the show is performed without The Jordanaires, the band is expected to provide intermittent backup vocals. Allenberry's pit band is a fine crew; they've worked together regularly for some time and they're all fine musicians. They are not, however, normally vocalists - they're not bad, but they're not winning any prizes for their singing, either. It's more intimate this way, yes, but let the band be the band; a couple of Jordanaires would give vocals stronger both in quality and in audibility.

The truth is this - in most jukebox musicals, you're there for the music. In a Patsy Cline jukebox musical, you're there as much for Patsy Cline herself as you are for the songs. You go for that connection to the icon who gave us much of modern Nashville, who helped invent crossover, who led the way for other female country vocalists, who helped define the modern torch song, and who made country and honky-tonk music acceptable listening for "sophisticated" audiences long before the pop rediscovery (and sudden endowing with "coolness") of Johnny Cash. This production does indeed put the audience on that closer walk with Cline; you can feel that connection. O'Bryan is a very fine portrayer of Cline, the band's got a great sound going behind her, and that's all you need to have a good time here. William Asher, Bill Nork, Dave Warfel and Jon Rossi, bedecked in country music gear, though nothing as spectacular as Nudie suits, are on stage plying their trade to great effect, as opposed to being hidden in the pit area as usual, and it's great fun to see the pit band regulars appear on stage as Cline's backups. They're clearly enjoying the opportunity themselves.

At Allenberry through October 2. Call 717-258-3211 or visit www.allenberry.com for tickets.

Photo courtesy of Allenberry Playhouse

To post a comment, you must register and login.