ALWAYS... PATSY CLINE to Kick Off Stages' 27th Season, 5/31

STAGES ST. LOUIS celebrates music legend and cross-over sensation Patsy Cline, May 31 through June 30 at the Robert G. Reim Theatre in Kirkwood. The touching true story, Always... Patsy Cline combines humor, heartache and 27 of Patsy's most unforgettable hits, such as "Crazy," "Walkin' After Midnight," "Sweet Dreams," and more.

Always...Patsy Cline was created by Ted Swindley in Houston, Texas in 1988. Swindley wanted to present a production featuring Cline's music, but he did not want it to just be a typical musical revue or a biography on the singer's life. He sought a local slant on the show and discovered an interview with Houston housewife, Louise Seger, in a Cline biography. Within the interview, he discovered information about countless letters written between Seger and Cline up until the night of her death in 1963. Always... Patsy Cline is told through the heartfelt and hilarious memories of Louise andfocuses on the fateful evening at Houston's Esquire Ballroom when Louise hears of Patsy's untimely passing at age thirty. After many productions in the early 90s around the southern part of the U.S., Always... Patsy Cline successfully ran Off-Broadway in 1997. It is one of the top 10 most produced shows with performances in the U. S., Australia, the UK and Ireland, and has rarely been produced in the St. Louis region.

Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Henley on September 8, 1932 in Winchester, Virginia. She was known for helping to break down the gender barrier in country music and received her first recording contract in the 1950s. In the early 1960s, Cline joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee and successfully "crossed over" to pop music with several of her songs. Cline remains as relevant today as she was exactly fifty years after her passing. Her legacy as one of the greatest singers of all time continues to resonate among audiences of all ages. In 2005 her album, Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits, was listed as the Longest-Charting Title by a Female Artist in the Guinness Book of World Records, with over 10 million records sold.

Jacqueline Petroccia stars as Patsy Cline, making her STAGES debut. Petroccia has portrayed the role of Cline in three previous productions and her most recent earned her a Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance and a Broadway World Nomination for Best Leading Actress. Other Credits include Carousel with NY Philharmonic (filmed for PBS), the National Tour of The Producers and the starring role in the new musical comedy, The Life of a Mob Wife.

St. Louis actress Zoe Vonder Harr returns to STAGES to co-star as Louise Seger. Vonder Harr has performed in over sixty productions at STAGES including: Hello, Dolly!, Gypsy, Mame andA Chorus Line. Other credits include the 1st international Touring Company of A Chorus Line and numerous productions at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Muny.

Standby for Patsy Cline and Louise Seger is St. Louis actress Sophie Grimm. Grimm is a singer with Great Life Music's Matt Reed Band. She has previously performed at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, and The Music Theatre Company.

Always...Patsy Cline will feature a live six person band; Lisa Campbell Albert (Piano), John Higgins (Pedal Steel Guitar/Acoustic Guitar), Jon Ferber (Electric Guitar/Acoustic Guitar),Kevin Buckley (Fiddle), Vince Corkery (Bass), and Don Drewett (Drums).

Direction and musical staging are by STAGES ST. LOUIS Artistic Director Michael Hamilton with musical direction by Lisa Campbell Albert. Completing the creative team are Scenic Designer James Wolk, Costume Designer Lou Bird and Lighting Designer Matthew McCarthy.

Ted Swindley (Author and Original Director) has directed and/or produced over 200 plays for over 20 years. Some of his outstanding directorial credits include world premieres, classics and musicals including, CARNAL KNOWLEDGE, PACIFIC OVERTURES, FOLLIES and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, along with rotating repertory projects such as Havel's THE MEMORANDUM with Giradoux's THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT, Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN and LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES with THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. Ted was named to Esquire magazine's register of Americans for Outstanding Achievement in Arts and Letters, and was featured in Southern Living Magazine. In 2007 he was a keynote speaker at the Southwestern Theatre Conference. He was also the recipient of the Los Angeles Dramalogue Award for outstanding direction and nominated for the Los Angeles Critics Award for his work at the Pasadena Playhouse. He is the Founding Artistic Director of Stages Repertory Theatre, the second largest theatre in Houston, Texas. There he implemented such diverse programming as the Texas Playwrights Festival, for which he won national recognition in 1986 from the Wall Street Journal and Backstage Magazine. Best known for creating the hit musical, Always...Patsy Cline, which was one of the top ten shows produced across the country in 1998, he has also directed in over 60 theatres. THE HONKY TONK ANGELS is his latest hit, and he has completed the trilogy with THE HONKY TONK ANGELS HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR, and BUBBA'S REVENGE, (which can all be done independently of each other). He has just recently premiered his latest work, BACHELOR PAD in New York City, and completed a Southern adaption of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, entitled THE IMPORTANCE OF BEIN' EARNEST, and a play, STORIES MY GRANDMOTHER TOLD ME, which had its premiere in Kansas City, MO, January 2008. He is an active member of the Dramatists Guild and The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and is a member of the Playwrights/Directors Workshop at the famed Actors Studio in New York City. Complete biographical information is listed on STAGES' website at www.stagesstlouis.org.

Single ticket prices range from $20 - $55. STAGES performs in the intimate, 384-seat Robert G. Reim Theatre at Kirkwood Civic Center, 111 South Geyer Road in St. Louis, MO. For more information or to purchase tickets call 314-821-2407 or visit www.stagesstlouis.org.

STAGES ST. LOUIS is committed to preserving and advancing the art form of Musical Theatre through excellence in performance and education. In 2013, STAGES will present its 27th season of Broadway-quality theatre to nearly 50,000 patrons.

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