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Welcome to Millbrook’s 60th season! For its first offering on the Ryan Main Stage, the Playhouse is presenting "A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline," a heartfelt musical that tells the story, through song, of the life and career of an artist who’s been called one of the greatest vocalists of all time.
Patsy Cline was brash and sassy. She liked to address people as "Hoss." Someone said of her at one point that she didn’t open doors, she kicked them down. She was also generous, even selfless, insisting at the site of a near-fatal accident that the passengers in the car responsible for the collision be taken to the hospital first. But what she’s best known for is her miraculous contralto voice, though which she was able not only to evoke the tribulations and yearnings of the human heart but also to make them vitally present in the room.
The play is simply staged, with a four-piece band behind a microphone, and two characters -- Patsy and DJ Little Big Man, a disc jockey from her hometown -- to tell the story. DJ Little Big Man, played with comic flair by Noah Tibbetts, intersperses facts about Patsy’s life with interludes as DJ, stand-up comic, and emcee. But the real storyteller is Patsy herself, who creates the shape of a life though her songs. In a virtuoso performance, Samantha Lee Mason captures Patsy’s essence as she delivers over twenty songs in the course of the evening, ranging from the sassy to the soulful, including "Walkin’ After Midnight," "Lovesick Blues," "Always," "She’s Got You," "I Fall to Pieces," "Crazy," and a surprisingly sexy and rollicking rendition of "Bill Bailey," which is not to be missed. Set in the late 50s / early 60s, as Patsy’s career is taking off, the play begins with her days as "badass cowgirl drama queen [who] belts some of the torchiest, weepiest country songs ever, hitting high notes that make you sob into your margarita," according to Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield. And it follows her as she successfully blossoms into what many call the Nashville Sound, making sequinned appearances at venues like Carnegie Hall and Las Vegas, and touching larger audiences by blending country and pop. Mark Deming of Allmusic states that Patsy "didn’t invent ‘countrypolitan,’ but precious few artists managed to meld the sophistication of pop and the emotional honesty of country as brilliantly as this music accomplishes with seemingly effortless grace…" This legacy creates a high bar for a performer, but Samantha is able to channel Patsy’s full emotional range, from the pensive to the full-throated, heartbreakingly sad, with beautiful finesse.
It was a delight to take a "closer walk" with these classics, presented freshly and with reverence on the Millbrook stage.
Patsy’s legacy comes to life under the excellent direction of Millbrook’s team, including Jared Whitford as director, with costumes by Maya Faye Gordon, stage management by Erica Conklin, and sound production by Adam Visconti and Kaden James. The musical background was provided by Daun Williamson on drums, Eli King on Keys2, Michael Mitchell on guitar, and Halle Mitchell on Keys; Halle was also musical director.
Our 60th season is off to a magnificant start with Shannon Agnew as Millbrook’s new Producing Artistic Director. Shannon’s acting credits are extensive, but we know her most recently as Vivian Vance in Sidekicked (which she also directed), the Narrator in Every Brilliant Thing, and Betty Jean in The Marvellous Wonderettes. Her recent directing credits at Millbrook include Camelot, Mama Mia, and Beauty and the Beast. Shannon also served at Millbrook as Teaching Artist, Curriculum Writer, and Artistic Associate between 2015 and the present, teaching prospective actors of all ages -- from K to adult -- at the Little’s Camp, the Adult Master Class, and the Audition Technique Teen Intensive. Earlier this year, she said, "It is with great honor and excitement that I can announce my new position with a theater I love so dearly." We welcome you, Shannon, and look forward to many years of exciting and inspiring theater!
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Karen Elias lives in Swissdale. She taught English for more than 30 years, most recently at Lock Haven University and Penn College.