Many years ago I was visiting a friend in Wicker Park whose musician boyfriend was heading out to rehearsal. “What are you girls doing tonight?” he asked. “Just hanging out,” we replied. He laughed and said “Yeah, I know what that means. You’re going to drink beer, listen to Patsy Cline, and bitch about men.” (He was of course correct.)
Patsy was made for female bonding, and that’s the key to Ted Swindley’s 1988 tribute show “Always … Patsy Cline,” drawn from the memories of Cline friend and fan Louise Seger. It practically has “crowd-pleasing” stamped on its forehead, and with just two lead performers, a small band, and the built-in appeal of the Cline country classics, it’s not hard to see why it pops up frequently. But as so often happens at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, intimacy carries the day more than crass commercial considerations. And for a show that is as much about the friendship of two working women as it is the indelible voice of Cline, that’s a huge plus.
That voice is embodied here in Christina Hall’s Cline, who, especially after the first couple of numbers, transcends mere imitation of Cline’s style to make us believe that this is, indeed, how Cline might have been, onstage and off. She’s bighearted and a bit weary — after all, Cline’s short career was long before the material excesses and entourages major stars enjoyed later on.
Louise, played to the sassy hilt here by Danni Smith, recounts first hearing Cline sing “Walkin’ After Midnight” on Arthur Godfrey’s show and thinking “She sang like I would like to sing.” Cline may be warbling about the heartbreak of relationships with men, but she is singing for women who keep falling for the cheating louts, anyway.
Though described in the press materials as a “housewife,” divorced single-mom Louise is working as an electronics technician in 1961 Houston when she decides to take her boss and her boyfriend to a Cline concert. “We can’t all be hairdressers,” Smith’s Louise says, letting us know from the jump that underestimating her spunk would be a mistake.
That concert forms the centerpiece of the show. Louise meets Patsy before the show and quickly conquers her stage-struck fandom to take over as manager-for-a-night. (In one hilarious interlude, Smith’s Louise, at Patsy’s request, rides herd on the band — especially Scott Simon’s drummer — to make sure they are keeping the beat.) She then takes Patsy home for late-night bacon and eggs and, the following morning, takes her into the studio of a local radio station — to the shock of the DJ, who had assumed frequent-Cline-requester Louise had knocked back one too many when she called him earlier to tell him that Cline was at her house.
It was the only time Louise and Patsy were together — but thanks to Smith and Hall’s chemistry, we believe that it was an important night for both of them. What Swindley is capturing here is an interlude that led to a pen-pal friendship cut short by Cline’s death at age 30 in an airplane crash two years later. If you want insight into how Cline chose the music she made immortal, or her work with legendary producer Owen Bradley, you’ll have to look elsewhere. And sure, the show is on the sentimental and hagiographic side, so if you’re allergic to that sort of thing, stay away.
But if you want to sit back and hear Hall beautifully capture the range of Cline’s catalog — from tearjerkers like “Sweet Dreams” to pop numbers (Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield’s “Stupid Cupid”) to traditional gospel (“How Great Thou Art”), Fred Anzevino’s production is a little gem. He wisely scatters performance nooks throughout the tiny space, so Patsy isn’t just an onstage presence, but one of us.
As is Smith. Though one wishes she had more opportunities to sing along with Patsy, she keeps busy not only prodding the stellar five-piece band (led by pianist/music director Aaron Benham), but as the emotional stand-in for everyone who ever loved Patsy — whether they were drinking and kvetching or not.
3.5 STARS
When: Through Dec. 28
Where: Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre at No Exit Cafe, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave.
Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Tickets: $29-$34 at 800-595-4849 or theo-u.org