How many of you have played"Always Patsy Cline"?

Todd Kapeghian · Post by **Todd Kapeghian** » 24 Oct 2006 6:42 am

I'm doing double duty playing Steel & Guitar for "Always...Patsy Cline" the whole month of Nov. at the "Cidermill Playhouse" in Endicott,NY. Got me wondering how many of you out there have done this show and what were your favorite songs?

Mike Archer · Post by **Mike Archer** » 24 Oct 2006 7:02 am

i did the show in servierville tn back in
2002 as steel player at lee greenwood
theater as one of 4 shows in theaters i did in the past 10 years in that area
as i recall it was a good show
good players and a lot of fun
good steel parts and they wanted that
old steel sound rather than flashy stuff
i liked about all ths songs[This message was edited by Mike Archer on 24 October 2006 at 08:03 AM.]

Nathan Delacretaz · Post by **Nathan Delacretaz** » 24 Oct 2006 7:17 am

Played it for 33 weeks in 2004 -- steel only -- at Zach Scott Theatre in Austin (was only supposed to be an 8-week run, but it got held over like mad)... It was a great experience.

Hard to pick a favorite song, but "Crazy" and "You Belong to Me" were nice because the chord changes were such a departure.[This message was edited by Nathan Delacretaz on 24 October 2006 at 08:20 AM.]

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 24 Oct 2006 7:25 am

I did it for 14 weeks from Nov. 95 through Feb. 96, at the Capital City Playhouse in Austin TX.

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Alan Harrison · Post by **Alan Harrison** » 24 Oct 2006 7:44 am

I am in my 34th performance with 5 more to go this round. I first played the show at the Cannon County Playhouse in Woodbury TN, in 2002, then in 2003, took it on the road for 3 weeks. Again at the same theatre in July and August of 2006 and now at the Bear Hollow Theatre in Mont Eagle TN. We have completed two shows and have five more to go.
Guess you could say that I've enjoyed playing steel on this show. Three different Patsy Clines, same great Louise and three different bands. "Lots of work but great fun".

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[This message was edited by Alan Harrison on 24 October 2006 at 08:45 AM.][This message was edited by Alan Harrison on 24 October 2006 at 08:46 AM.]

Buddie Hrabal · Post by **Buddie Hrabal** » 24 Oct 2006 8:16 am

I have done "Always Patsy Cline" several time at different venues in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area. On one occasion at Casa Mana in Ft.Worth the "Real Louise" came to the show. I have also done "Just A Closer Walk" several times. They are both fun productions. I would do them again if I were available.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 24 Oct 2006 8:20 am

i subbed on wednesdays in san francisco for a friend at an upstairs theater for a month or so. louise really made that show.. then did six weeks at a theater in sacramento. this all years ago.. great show, lots of fun, great casts, good to work with talented music director/pianists. not too hard if you can learn to follow your charts at first. everyone should give it a try if given the opportunity.
also did the best little whorehouse in texas at the sac music circus and in reno. pretty scary the first time...but it got easier.

Boo Bernstein · Post by **Boo Bernstein** » 24 Oct 2006 8:29 am

I was a sub for a month of weekends when they put it on in Los Angeles a few years back. Sally Struthers (from "All In The Family") played Patsy's friend. It was a great show and a lot of fun to play. First of all, it puts you through your paces as a musician (I played steel and acoustic and electric guitars) and, second, you get to play a whole evening of Patsy Cline tunes. What a blast.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 24 Oct 2006 8:49 am

Since I moved from England to the USA in mid-1998, 'Always, Patsy Cline' has probably accounted for 50% of my total earnings.

I'm currently with the show in Vero Beach, FL, and I believe this is the 25th production for me. I've done two or three tours with it, and have played it in theatres from CA to Massachusetts. It's always fun, and even more so when, like now, I'm with really good players.

I like 'You Belong To Me', 'I Love You Honey', and playing C6th on 'Bill Bailey'. After countless performances, the dialogue is starting to wear a little thin for me, but it's always good to be working!

It's paid the mortgage for us...

RR

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 24 Oct 2006 8:58 am

The Denver run is the all time record holder for the show--it ran here 8 shows a week for 3 and a half years--close to 1800 performances. I had the contract for the steel chair, and played about half of the shows, with the rest covered primarily by Chuck Lettes, along with some other fine players from the area.

They brought the show back for a 6 month run a year ago, and Chuck and I split the gig. The singer, Melissa Swift-Sawyer was perfect for her part. I also produced a CD of Melissa doing a bunch of Patsy tunes from the show using the cast band, and sold a whole bunch of units...

One funny sidebar was the guitar player and I were in the back, and once the auto-pilot thing was on, we started reading magazines during the dialogue. A whole different kind of reading gig...the highest level of achievement was being able to take your solo without losing your place in the article...

All in all a pretty fun gig, despite the monotony.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 24 Oct 2006 9:00 am

i'd like to add....for those of you that are afraid to attempt these things...that i don't read music, am not the best player in the world, and even have difficulty following charts while i'm playing something i'm not familiar with...that if you can get a recording of the music to familiarize yourself with, and just go for it....work closely and happily with the music director...usually they aren't that picky about your notes as long as you give them a close overall representation of the music (you know better than they do what a steel should sound like) and you'll come out of it feeling like a pro! good confidence builder!

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 24 Oct 2006 9:10 am

I did a 16 week run here in Portland a few years back.
It was fun, but got a bit grueling in the end.
I never got tired of the actuall playing and songs though.
It turned out to be a pretty good chunk o' change in the end, also.

Hook Moore · Post by **Hook Moore** » 24 Oct 2006 9:23 am

I did the show for several weeks in 1997. "I`m back in babys arms" and "walking after midnight" are probably my favorites from the show.

Hook

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[This message was edited by Hook Moore on 24 October 2006 at 10:26 AM.]

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 24 Oct 2006 9:39 am

I did the Anchorage show..still looking for the rest of my money.I got to work with Jessica Welch,and Luise was played by my good friend Toni Prima who's Mom is Keely Smith,and her Dad was Louie Prima.

Drew Howard · Post by **Drew Howard** » 24 Oct 2006 9:43 am

Lansing, MI Boarshead Theatre - 8 weeks - 2001[This message was edited by Drew Howard on 24 October 2006 at 10:44 AM.]

Ernie Pollock · Post by **Ernie Pollock** » 24 Oct 2006 10:01 am

I did one called 'Patsy Cline' by Dean Regan at the Cumberland Theater, back in the late 90's. I think we did 24 shows on that one, it was fun and I still play & have a rhythm track for the song 'Always'.

Ernie Pollock :}
I was playing a Mullen S-12 Universal on that show

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Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 24 Oct 2006 10:05 am

I've done it three or four times, and it's always a blast, the better the band, the more fun it is! Lot's of good songs.

Michael McGee · Post by **Michael McGee** » 24 Oct 2006 10:20 am

Todd, I did a 3-week run this summer and had a ball. I guess my favorite song for PC is all of them, but if I had to choose, I'd go with "I Fall To Pieces".

Todd Kapeghian · Post by **Todd Kapeghian** » 24 Oct 2006 10:35 am

I was sort of surprised by how little Steel Guitar there was in the orginal recordings. Songs like,"Crazy" and "I fall to Pieces" I'd always associated with Steel Guitar and always played alot of Steel when I'd played these songs but,really there's very little or no Steel at all in the orginals! Ok...maybe I'll only play 5 or 6 songs on Steel, then I got a copy of the show"Live at the Ryman Auditorium"and now,thankfully, I think I'll be playing alot more Steel than I first thought.
We've got an upright bass player & one of the best drummers in the area,Chris Adams(teacher,co-author w/t Gary Chester of the New Breed drum books). I've worked with Chris before and we really had a blast. So...really looking forward to the show,playing some great classic's and getting the Pedal Steel out in front of a different crowd!

Bill Simmons · Post by **Bill Simmons** » 24 Oct 2006 10:46 am

Played it in Dallas December '04. Enjoyed it very much but must admit, I got tired of the same show for 30 nights!

In the spring when they called and asked if I'd play the Arlington, TX show I said, "...thanks, but I will pass...call the great Buddie Hrabal!"

Skip Ellis · Post by **Skip Ellis** » 24 Oct 2006 10:49 am

Played it at Sarasota Studio Theater - once on main stage with 5 pieces and once in the dinner theater with me, a piano player, and sequencer. Played guitar and steel.
Skip

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 24 Oct 2006 12:03 pm

Penn State University in 1999. Rehearsed for a few weeks, ran for about two weeks. Part of cast was touring professionals, others were from Penn State Theatre Dept. Forced me to learn a lot of new stuff - I was pretty green on steel at this point. Also played some guitar. It was a lot of fun.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 24 Oct 2006 3:46 pm

another interesting aside is: after playing crazy behind every girl singer in the universe at jam sessions/talent contests...you finally realize how many passing chords aren't in the original patsy version.

pdl20 · Post by **pdl20** » 24 Oct 2006 4:47 pm

Robert Jones and i subed for each other during its run here in littler rock with the Ark Rep. several years ago.was fun to do .

pdl20 · Post by **pdl20** » 24 Oct 2006 4:48 pm

Robert Jones and i subed for each other during its run here in little rock with the Ark Rep. several years ago.was fun to do . woops hit the wrong button.

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