The Legendary Patsy Cline was chosen by
PEOPLE Magazine as one of
"THE MOST INTRIGUING PEOPLE OF THE CENTURY"
Patsy...Honky Tonk Angel had preview/investor performances in New York in March
2005. The production will begin an international tour in Asia and Australia, with subsequent dates in the West
and Southwest in late summer 2007 into 2008.
This original stage show tells, in rich theatrical terms, the story of legendary performer Patsy Cline, the first
female country and western singer to "crossover" to pop success.
The musical covers the last seven years of the superstar's exciting career and turbulent romantic life.
Beginning in 1955, Patsy...Honky Tonk Angel chronicles Patsy's bumpy rise to stardom, from
honky-tonk dives to New York's Carnegie Hall and Las Vegas. It's adapted for the stage by the internationally
recognized expert on Patsy Cline, Ellis Nassour, author of Honky Tonk Angel: The Intimate Story of Patsy
Cline (St. Martin's Press); and the contributor of the source material for the international hit revue, Always, Patsy
Cline*.
Equipped with little more than raw ambition (and a monumental talent), Patsy struggles to make a name for
herself in a "good ole boy" business that often left its women bruised and bitter. Her tempestuous marriage
to one of those good ole boys forms the heart of the story, an "on again/off again" relationship as passionate as it
was reckless.
Along the way, Patsy made friends of some of country music's greatest stars, including Minnie Pearl,
Brenda Lee, Dottie West and Faron Young. In addition to an original score by George Leonard (music) and
Nassour (lyrics), the show features such Patsy Cline classics as "Crazy," "Faded Love," "I Fall to Pieces"
and "She's Got You" by Hank Cochran, Harland Howard, Willie Nelson and Bob Wills.
Patsy...Honky Tonk Angel also eatures hits of the Opry stars, the antics of comic legend Minnie
Pearl and high-stepping clog choreoraphy made famous on the Grand Ole Opry. Triumphing over terrible odds
(a near fatal car accident that left her badly scarred, the break-up of a marriage), Patsy emerges as the
consummate survivor, the brightest light in a golden age of popular American music.
Patsy Cline was chosen by People Magazine as one of "The Most Intriguing People of the Century."
She left one of the greatest legacies in music history, a legacy honored with a 1995 Grammy Award for Lifetime
Achievement.
In 1999, Patsy was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1973, Cline was the first solo
female artist named to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Thanks to efforts by Nassour, Patsy Cline was inducted
into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, an honor accepted by widow Charles Dick.
Forty-four years after Cline's untimely death at age 30, Cline's popularity continues to soar. Patsy Cline's
Greatest Hits continues on the Billboard album charts = over 700 weeks!.
"Crazy," written by Willie Nelson, is the Number One worldwide jukebox champion.
* The spoken word sequences of Always, Patsy Cline are
eight and a half consecutive pages presented verbatim
[originally without permission] of Ellis Nassour's interviews
with Patsy Cline fan and his long-time friend Louise Seger.
In due course, and after media headlines around the world,
the creator of the show was successfully sued in U.S. Federal
Court.
|
