Greatest hits, friendship story in ‘Always... Patsy Cline’

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Patsy Cline

Updated: May 9, 2012 10:16AM

In the town of Winchester in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, there is a gravestone that probably says it best: “Death Cannot Kill What Never Dies: Love.”

It is a tribute marker to the late, great singer Patsy Cline.

Not many singers remain legends so long after their death, especially after such a short career of slightly more than five years.

Cline died at age 30 on March 5, 1963, which was almost 49 years ago.

Her music lives on partly through such tribute stage shows as “Always… Patsy Cline,” which begins preview performances on Feb. 23 at Theatre at the Center in Munster, Ind.

The show, which will officially open on Feb. 26 and run through April 1, was a smash hit in 1995-96 when it played in the Chicago area for more than a year.

“Always... Patsy Cline” was staged at the Northlight Theatre in Skokie, then at the Apollo Theatre on Chicago’s North Side.

Although “Always… Patsy Cline” went on to play nationally under many directors, the original Chicago-area premiere director, Brian Russell, returns for this production.

Russell said he is thrilled to be back with the show and also to be making his Theatre at the Center debut.

“I’m not necessarily a country music fan,” he said. “But I am a music fan and definitely a Patsy Cline fan.”

Cline was categorized in the country music genre but, as Russell said, “she was the first true crossover (country-pop) artist.

“Something about her music is truly endearing … and lasting. And as a personality, she had it all — honesty and authenticity.”

“Always … Patsy Cline” is not merely a musical revue, nor is it a retrospective of the namesake’s life.

Instead the show is touted as focusing on a small segment of her life while she is at the top of her popularity.

The production brings Cline to life as seen by one of her most ardent fans, while also squeezing in 27 of Cline’s greatest hits including such standards as “Walkin’ After Midnight,” “I Fall to Pieces,” “She’s Got You” and “Crazy.”

The show starts with a serendipitous meeting between Cline and Louise Seger.

Cline was in Houston for a show. Seger arrived early and happened to meet her.

They struck up an immediate friendship and remained pen pals until Cline’s death in an airplane crash two years later.

Seger persuaded Cline to spend a night at her house rather than a hotel. They talked well into the night, with Cline opening her heart to Seger.

Still, Seger never expected to hear from Cline again. But a few weeks later, she received the first of many letters, which were signed “Love Always... Patsy Cline.”

Playing Cline will be Heather Beck, who at age 29 is almost the same age as Cline was during that period.

Beck has played Cline before, in 2010 in Rock Island for a show called “A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline” that was virtually a concert.

She received rave reviews from Quad Cities publications for her “rich voice” and “unpretentious” style.

Playing Seger will be Janelle Snow, a two-time Jeff Awards winner.

“I’ve known (Snow) for several years while I with the American Theatre Company,” Russell said. “She’s a terrific actor.”

Cline fans should not be disappointed that much of “Always… Patsy Cline” is as much about Seger as it is Cline.

Most Cline fans have said Seger’s character is one they can relate to as much they do the singer. Seger’s character also provides much levity to the show.

“They developed such a deep connection,” Russell said.

When “Always … Patsy Cline” played in 1996, Hollis Resnik performed the Cline role and Sarah Underwood portrayed Seger.

Resnik has since split her time as an audience favorite in various shows on Chicago-area stages including Theatre at the Center and on national tours.

Underwood went on to star in Los Angeles.

Russell said he also is thrilled about Theater at the Center’s intimacy and thrust stage.

“I intend to take full advantage of it,” he said. “Bill (Underwood, the music director) has put together a terrific five-piece band and it will be in full view.”

Don Snider is a local free-lance writer.

BEER AND WINE TASTING

Dick Biondi, of WLS-FM (94.7), plays a special role in the cast of “Always... Patsy Cline” as the voice of the disc jockey.

As part of an enhancement to the theater experience, Theatre at the Center will host a beer and wine tasting at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24, followed by the 8 p.m. performance of the show.

The beer and wine tasting can be added to one’s theater ticket for $15.

Known as the Wild I-tralian, Big Mouth and the Screamer,” Biondi celebrated his 50th year in Chicago radio on May 2, 2010, at the same place he started — behind the microphone at WLS.

Biondi began his broadcasting career at WCBA-AM (1350) in New York. In 1960, he moved to Chicago where he worked at WLS.

In the early 1960s, Biondi was the United States’ No. 1 disc jockey. In early 1963, he was the first DJ in America to play the Beatles.

Biondi’s show introduced rock ’n’ roll to listeners in nearly 40 states and parts of Canada as well.

“Chicago is my favorite city because the most loyal people in the world live here,” he said.

Biondi was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame and the Radio Wing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On June 29, 2010, he was honored by having a stretch of one of Chicago’s streets renamed Dick Biondi Way.

Recently the readers of Radio Ink voted Biondi the Greatest DJ of the 1960s.