PHOTOS BY MICHELLE SMITH LEWIS

Louise Seger (Kate Jaeger) talks with her favorite singer, Patsy Cline (Cayman Ilika), in Centerstage’s production of “Always…Patsy Cline.”

Musical pays powerful tribute to Patsy Cline

By Meghan Erkkinen

When Houston housewife Louise Seger heard the music of Patsy Cline on the radio in 1957, it was love at the first note. She began calling the radio regularly to request that Cline’s songs be played.

In 1961, Seger attended a Cline concert in Houston. She arrived 90 minutes early, only to meet Cline before the show. The two struck up a conversation that ended with a night of secret sharing at Seger’s home. Cline stayed the night and departed the next day for a scheduled show in Dallas, but the two women continued their friendship through phone calls and letters until Cline’s death in an airplane crash in 1963.

“Always…Patsy Cline,” playing now at Federal Way’s Knutzen Family Theatre, documents Seger’s first encounter with Cline’s rich, emotional voice, her subsequent fascination with the singer and the night of their first meeting.

The Centerstage production is at once funny, full and moving. Cayman Ilika is phenomenal as Patsy Cline, mimicking the rich emotion of one of country’s first great female stars. In spite of the enormous shoes to fill, Ilika is command-ing and confident in the role and takes on even Cline’s most challenging songs without a fault.

Kate Jaeger is smart and sassy as devoted fan Seger. Her fierceness and loud presence counter Ilika’s Cline deftly. Jaeger and Ilika pair up as a potent duo, each strong in her own right and even more powerful together.

The pair is backed up by the Bodacious Bobcats Band, made up of pianist and conductor David Duvall, Don Miller on lead guitar, Tom Malcom on pedal steel guitar, Larry Leggett on bass and Troy Lund on drums. The Bobcats are clever and capable, occasionally providing their own variety of comedy to the production.

The musical weaves through Seger’s growing appreciation for Cline’s music and for Cline herself, as she gets to know the musician and the songs more and more. Although Cline makes appearances early on, it is mostly through stage perform-ances and the radio as Seger recollects her growing adoration for the artist. It is not until that fateful night in 1961, when Seger and Cline meet for the first time, that the audience actually encounters Cline, too.

As the night of their first meeting unfolds, the audience gets to know Cline for the delightful, amiable person she is. The end of the first act and most of the second act of the play are set during that night, revealing Cline as Seger remembers her.

The production features such notable Cline songs as “If You’ve Got Leavin’ on Your Mind,” “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Sweet Dreams” and “Walkin’ After Midnight.” The production is energetic, fun and powerful. The show is worth seeing, both by Cline fans and those unfamiliar with her music.

“Always…Patsy Cline” plays at the Knutzen Family Theatre, located at 3200 S.W. Dash Point Rd. in Federal Way, through Oct. 12. For more information or to buy tickets, call (253) 661-1444 or visit www.centerstagetheatre.com.

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