Publisher: Elizabeth Hurd

Thanks to the Pollard for “An Evening with Patsy Cline” Making Great Music Last Forever

Spending an evening with Patsy Cline–if only it were possible. 

We Waited Whispering Words of Wonder

It is possible.  Yes, Virginia, there is a patsy in your future.

Born Virginia Patterson Hensley in 1932 she took the name Patsy Cline for performance and she made that name famous beyond dreams.  She died in a plane crash when she was only 30 yet in her short life she became one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.  She was country and she loved country, but she also crossed over into pop because the quality of her sound was so phenomenal and she laid the foundation for many artists in the future from Linda Ronstadt to Dolly Parton and many others.  Her voice has such a quality it transcends the scratches on the old 78s that folk still can’t stop playing. But it is possible to spend an evening with Patsy and listen to her great music tapping your feet and singing along even with tears from heartbreak lyrics roll down the face. 

Shelly Phelps brings to Guthrie “An Evening with Patsy Cline” singing all the favorites Patsy Cline delighted us with 60 years ago become vibrantly alive again through her song.  The Moonlit Pass Band accompany sounding wonderful as well.  Phelps appears as Patsy Cline, in character as Patsy Cline as she would have done the show herself.  Two acts, or ‘sets’ are filled with Patsy Cline favorites.  The show is created by Shelly Phelps and Jason Hunt of the Moonlit Pass Band and is presented by Beam Entertainment Group of Oklahoma City.

“An Evening with Patsy Cline” isn’t a play although Phelps also is known to star in the play called “Always…Patsy Cline” and will be performing this show opening March 25 at the Boom Dinner Theatre in Oklahoma City. 

While the venue of the Pollard is an ideal size for the show the proscenium stage does have the fourth wall and that invisible barrier is hard to penetrate.  Patsy Cline sings of heartbreak and love, intimate subjects that need an intimate connection.  That intimacy, even though the audience is mostly strangers allows an emotional exchange, and in spite of those difficulties Phelps manages to do so on several occasions.

“An Evening with Patsy Cline” will be at the Pollard Theatre another night, Saturday, February 11, 2023 and is a great way to share Valentine’s Day with a special someone.  The Pollard is located at 120 W. Harrison in Guthrie.  For tickets and information visit www.thepollard.org or call 405-282-2801.  It was a lovely evening, wasn’t it?