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2 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Jackson County pot rules draw mixed reviews ... Backers of Eugene track event donated heavily to Kitzhaber campaign ... Marijuana processing and sales banned in Jacksonville ... Jackson County pot rules draw mixed reviews ... Backers of Eugene track event donated heavily to Kitzhaber campaign ... Marijuana processing and sales banned in Jacksonville ... "Always ... Patsy Cline" brings iconic singer to life One set, two characters and 27 songs may not be the first thing that comes to mind for an evening of theater, but "Always ... Patsy Cline" plays better than it sounds — better than the concept sounds, that is, because the songs sound great. Comment By BILL VARBLE MailTribune.com By BILL VARBLE Posted Oct. 10, 2010 at 12:01 AM Updated Oct 10, 2010 at 2:40 AM By BILL VARBLE Posted Oct. 10, 2010 at 12:01 AM Updated Oct 10, 2010 at 2:40 AM » Social News One set, two characters and 27 songs may not be the first thing that comes to mind for an evening of theater, but "Always ... Patsy Cline" plays better than it sounds — better than the concept sounds, that is, because the songs sound great. Tunes such as "I Fall to Pieces," "She's Got You," "Crazy," "Just a Closer Walk" and "Faded Love" transcend all the usual little Balkanized musical niches and rip your heart out. The richness of the material accounts for a big part of the "crossover" success of Cline, who was not only arguably country's first female superstar but lived on the pop charts as well before she died in a plane crash at age 30 in 1963. In Camelot's new production of "Always ... Patsy Cline," Livia Genise plays the country singer, and Presila Quinby plays Louise Segar, a fan who met Cline at a concert two years before the singer's death and became friends with her. There are the two actors, a six-piece country band, a set that doubles as a Houston nightspot and Segar's home, and that's about it. Oh, and the wigs. These are doosies, created by Virginia Carol Hudson. Quinby as Louise has Big Hair Texas-style, circa late 1950s and early '60s. Genise wears both big hair and later a more sophisticated 'do as Cline, whose wigs covered the scars from a car crash she was lucky to have lived through. "Always" is neither straight play nor musical comedy. It's a musical tribute-cum-dialog, a cross between a staged biopic and a cabaret show. It was named one of the top 10 shows across the country in 1998 by American Theatre Magazine and has been widely produced in venues including at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, which in Cline's day was home to the Grand Ol' Opry. It is January of 1957, and Louise hears Patsy Cline (real name: Virginia Hensley) sing "Walkin' After Midnight" on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts" TV show, and the Earth moves. The real Cline rode that tune to TV appearances and live performances for a year or so but couldn't follow it with another hit for a couple of years, which in the music biz is forever. Meanwhile, back in our story, Louise, brought to zingy, over-the-top, comic/melodramatic life by Quinby as a good little ol' gal out of "Steel Magnolias," looking like Dolly Parton from the neck up, hectors the local country music disc jockey into playing Cline's recordings. Then one day he tells her the singer is coming to town. Louise goes hours early to the huge Houston honky-tonk for Cline's gig. In real life the women bonded, Cline spent the night at Louise's home, platonically, eating bacon and eggs before flying to Dallas for her next show, and the two corresponded until Cline's death. It was this episode that fired the imagination of Houston-based playwright-director Ted Swindley and led to "Always." What story there is takes place during this one long night. The plucky women drink a few Schlitz beers and swap stories, and something clicks, and Cline opens her heart to the puppy-like Louise. The heart of the piece is the music. Genise is a quality singer who knows how to sell a song. Still, taking on one of the most iconic songbooks in American popular music must be daunting. Nobody sounds quite like Patsy Cline, whose powerful contralto had that unique heart-achey thing. Genise sings in the manner of Cline. When she sings, "I should hate you the whole night through / instead of having sweet dreams about you," her voice does that little Patsy swoop. Her "Crazy" is Cline's crossover take, not the jazzy interpretation of Willie Nelson, who wrote it. It doesn't hurt that musical director and keyboardist Matt Gwinup is laying down those little Floyd Cramer slip notes that are burned into the brain of anybody who's ever heard the original recordings. Cramer, along with Cline and her producer, Owen Bradley, Chet Atkins and a few others created the "Nashville Sound" that supplanted the rougher country music of the 1940s and '50s. Backing Patsy/Genise along with Gwinup are Camelot Producing Director Doug Warner playing guitar and slide, Esther Aviana Platt on fiddle, Peter Spring on bass and Steve Sutfin on drums. The group is a bit to the honky-tonk side of the Nashville Sound, but it is a credible country aggregation that got its groove as the evening flew by. There is little narrative momentum in "Always." Rather, the girl-meets-girl-and-then-you-die story is a prism through which Cline comes into focus. It's a portrait of a true original, bodaciously talented but earthy, a ringing evocation of a moment frozen in an old black-and-white photo bursting into living color. Bill Varble writes about arts and entertainment for the Mail Tribune. He can be reached at varble.bill @gmail.com. By BILL VARBLE MailTribune.com By BILL VARBLE Posted Oct. 10, 2010 at 12:01 AM Updated Oct 10, 2010 at 2:40 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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