Cline’s music ‘Always’ a winner

Show an entertaining look at relationship between star, fan

July 15, 2010|James Reed, Globe Staff

STONEHAM — Early on in “Always . . . Patsy Cline,’’ the narrator mentions that she used to listen to the late country crooner on a radio station similar to the one you find at 102.5 on the FM dial. That would be Boston’s contemporary country music station, WKLB.

When that local reference falls flat at Stoneham Theatre, she cocks her hip and curls her lip at the crowd. “Y’all from around here?’’

But that’s the beauty of “Always . . . Patsy Cline.’’ You don’t have to know or even like country music to appreciate this show about the country icon, whose legacy has remained timeless 47 years after her death in a plane crash. On the other hand, it gives you little to think about after two entertaining hours of Cline songs expertly rendered by Becky Barta. Truth be told, that’s probably enough for most people.

The show, at Stoneham Theatre through July 25, is based on the true story of how a Texas fan, Louise Seger (Joy Hawkins), befriended Cline in 1961 and struck up a pen-pal friendship. It’s familiar territory for Barta and Hawkins, who shared this Stoneham stage in the same roles back in 2004. This time around Hawkins also directs the production.

The play’s title refers to how Cline would sign her letters to Seger (known here simply as Louise), but don’t be fooled: “Always . . . Patsy Cline’’ isn’t really about the singer. It’s more of a meditation on why we’re drawn to artists, why their stories speak so intimately to our own. For the show’s Louise, it was Patsy’s voice, her ability to sound regal when she was clearly hurting inside. Patsy was the sophisticated lady who could throw back a Schlitz with the best of them.

The story is told from Louise’s perspective, from the first time she heard Patsy on Arthur Godfrey’s television show to the night she met the singer at a local honky tonk and they became fast friends. As the narrator, Hawkins inhabits her role like a natural born spitfire; she’s Flo, the gum-snapping waitress from “Alice,’’ if she were portrayed by the late Rue McClanahan. Her Louise strikes a believable balance between slobbering fan (“Lord, take me now,’’ she says deadpan after her first encounter with Patsy) and a kindred spirit who can relate to the singer’s stormy personal life.