Review: Hale Centre Theatre's ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE is a Love Letter

Always...Patsy Cline on Hale Centre Theatre's Jewel Box Stage is a love letter to the beloved singer and her pioneering brand of country, as well as both fandom and friendship.

The focus is on the music in Always...Patsy Cline (created and originally directed by Ted Swindley), which is stuffed to the brim with 28 classic country hits as it chronicles the singer's fabled rise to fame. The vehicle through which the tale is told is the true experience of Patsy Cline superfan Louise Seger, who had the good fortune of meeting her idol, leading to a long relationship filled with mutual respect, love, and friendship.

The two-hander's performances are stellar. Cori Cable Kidder as Patsy Cline has steel nerves and astonishing steel pipes that blow the roof off the joint. Adrien Swenson is an absolute hoot as Louise Seger--hilarious, vulnerable, and utterly relatable as she takes the audience along on her unlikely journey. (Tamari Dunbar is Swenson's double and Kidder's understudy.)

The set by Jenn Taylor, lighting by Jaron Hermansen, and projections by Bobby Gibson work together to whisk the audience away to a honky tonk, kitchen, and the Grand Ole Opry, including neat projection tracking on a line dance lineup of white cowboy boots. The costumes by Peggy Willis successfully add to the sense of time and place.

The superb live music is performed by director/music director Kelly DeHaan on piano, and Bryan Hague on lead guitar, Mark Maxson on lap steel guitar, Mark Robinette on bass, Aaron Ashton on fiddle, and James Densley on drums.

Always...Patsy Cline plays through August 28, 2021. For tickets, call the box office at 801-984-9000 or visit www.hct.org.

Photo Credit: Hale Centre Theatre.

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