BWW Reviews: A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE

When I was a little boy, my older sister Charlotte had this huge console stereo with a turntable upon which she'd spin her favorite records and which would, every night of my young life, lull me to sleep to a musical score that featured the biggest musical hits of the day. Obviously, my eclectic musical tastes today can be traced to that experience, my life underscored by a wide variety of artists and songs which can still transport me to another time and place.

That will also explain my rapturous response to the performance of A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline, a dramatized tribute to the country music superstar that opened at Dickson's Gaslight Dinner Theater on Thursday, June 4, running for a much-too-short two weekends at what was once known as The Renaissance Center, but is now called Freed-Hardeman University Dickson (talk about hitting close to home: I grew up fewer than 15 miles from Freed-Hardeman's home campus in Henderson).

Filled to overflowing with some of Cline's most beloved hit songs (which may lead to your eyes overflowing...if, like me, you remember clearly the night Cline was killed in a plane crash near Camden, Tennessee, in 1963 when I was not yet six years old), A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline will draw comparisons by some to Ted Swindley's Always, Patsy Cline, which introduced the world to the artistry of another woman by the name of Mandy Barnett, who should be venerated along with Cline, what with her beautiful voice and exquisite performances. But somehow, A Closer Walk... somehow seems more personal in its own way - maybe it's because of the intimate nature of the Gaslight's venue - or perhaps it is the remarkable performance of Linda Sue Simmons, who will blow you away in a portrayal that all actors aspire to but are rarely given the opportunity.

I freely admit that I have been a fan of Simmons' since first seeing her onstage in the 1986 Miss Tennessee Pageant, in which she competed as Miss Chattanooga, finishing out of the money to the eventual winner of that year's Miss America pageant, Kellye Cash (who, coincidentally, may be seen onstage in Cumberland County Playhouse's latest rendition of Ring of Fire - and the world goes round, right?). Having seen her in such disparate productions as ACT 1's A Moon for the Misbegotten (her performance as Josie remains seared in my memory) or The Renaissance Players' White Christmas (she stole the show with her performance of Martha, the General's major domo at that starry holiday inn), it's long been clear she is an actor of special note and ever more special talents. But who knew she could become Patsy Cline, with no hint of falseness or stagey artifice?

For to be certain, Linda Sue Simmons doesn't so much play Patsy Cline, but rather she transforms into her before your eyes - or within your ears (which doesn't sound quite so pretty and evocative, does it?) - bringing all those wonderful songs associated with Patsy Cline and childhood nights of deep slumber to life in such an elegant, emotionally stimulating way.

Clad in a series of gorgeous gowns and dresses - and increasingly glamourous wigs to denote her place in the firmament of show business - which help to place each performance in the chronology of Cline's rise to fame and fleeting fortune (her personal life is mentioned here and there in this script approved by the Patsy Cline Estate, but the focus remains sharply upon her musical output and her rise to country music superstardom in a way that few women had been allowed prior to her ascent), Simmons definitely looks the part. Yet it's when she sings that you find yourself completely captivated by her performance: "Seven Lonely Day," "Faded Love" (which featured the production's only jarring moment or mistake when Simmons refers to its songwriter as "Bob Willis" instead of "Bob Wills," which momentarily shoved me out of my reverie) "Walking After Midnight," "Always," "Lovesick Blues," "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "Sweet Dreams," "I Fall to Pieces," "Crazy" and my personal favorite "She's Got You." With personal memories informing each song with a special message to my heart, Simmons left her audience awestruck with her performance. In total there are almost 20 Patsy Cline songs to be heard in A Closer Walk... and yet you are left wanting more or in hopes that this dream could continue long after the curtain has rung down on the production, which features the best set and lighting design (kudos to Greg Frey and Katie Gant, respectively) we've seen since the Gaslight Dinner Theatre was revived under director Frey's guidance.

Simmons is joined onstage by Curtis LeMoine-Reed as "Little Big Man," a disc jockey at WINC radio in Cline's hometown of Winchester, Virginia, who in the play's structure is paying tribute to the songbird's career on-air. LeMoine-Reed provides some background vocals and enjoys his own well-deserved moments in the spotlight in a series of comic divertissements that give Simmons time to change into another of her eye-popping costumes. His jokes may be corny and cornfed, but LeMoine-Reed gives a performance which impeccable timing.

Zane Jordan and Stephanie Wright perform as Patsy's backup singers and the whole show is given an authentic flair by the band, which features Alex Spann on piano, Alec Newman on bass (alternating with Tom D'Angelo), JJ Street on drums (alternating with Adam Wooten) and Dale Herr on guitar.

• A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline. Written and created by Dean Regan. Directed by Greg Frey. Music direction by Alex Spann. Choreography by Curtis Reed. Presented at The Gaslight Dinner Theatre, Dickson. Through June 13. For details, call (615) 740-5600, or go to www.gaslightdinnertheatre.org. Running time: 2 hours (with one 15-minute intermission).

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