ALWAYS... PATSY CLINE Breaks STAGES ST. LOUIS Records, Adds 6/23 Performance

STAGES ST. LOUIS is thrilled to announce, due to unprecedented demand,Always... Patsy Cline will add Sunday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m. to its original production schedule. Always... Patsy Cline had the largest advance of any production in the history of STAGES' 27 years and continues to SELL OUT performances on a daily basis. The audience is clamoring to return to see the production for a second time and is stopping the show with thunderous applause with numbers like "Crazy," and "Lovesick Blues."

Always... Patsy Cline celebrates music legend and cross-over sensation Patsy Cline through June 30 at the Robert G. Reim Theatre in Kirkwood. The touching true story combines humor, heartache and 27 of Patsy's most unforgettable hits, such as "Crazy," "Walkin' After Midnight," "Sweet Dreams," and more!

Ted Swindley, creator and original director of Always...Patsy Cline, first produced the show in Houston, Texas in 1988. During the creative process, Swindley came across an interview with Texas housewife and avid Patsy Cline fan, Louise Seger, and was able to establish the local slant he had been searching for and an ultimate direction for the show. Within the interview, he discovered information about countless letters written between Seger and Cline, signed by Cline "Love, Always... Patsy Cline," until the night of her death in 1963. Always... Patsy Cline is told through the heartfelt and hilarious memories of Seger and focuses on the fateful evening, at Houston's Esquire Ballroom, when Louise hears of Patsy's untimely passing at age thirty. After many regional productions during the early 90s, Always... Patsy Cline made it to Off-Broadway for a successful run in 1997. One of the top 10 most produced shows in twenty years, with performances in the U. S., Australia, the UK and Ireland, Always... Patsy Cline has rarely been produced in the St. Louis region.

Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Henley on September 8, 1932 in Winchester, Virginia. She was known for helping to break down the gender barrier in country music and received her first recording contract in the 1950s. In the early 1960s, Cline joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee and successfully "crossed over" to pop music with several of her songs. Cline remains as relevant today as she was exactly fifty years after her passing. Her legacy as one of the greatest singers of all time continues to resonate among audiences of all ages. In 2005 her album, Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits, was listed as the Longest-Charting Title by a Female Artist in the Guinness Book of World Records, with over 10 million records sold.

Jacqueline Petroccia stars as Patsy Cline, making her STAGES debut. Petroccia has portrayed the role of Cline in three previous productions and her most recent earned her a Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance and a Broadway World Nomination for Best Leading Actress. Other Credits include Carousel with NY Philharmonic (filmed for PBS), the National Tour of The Producers and the starring role in the new musical comedy, The Life of a Mob Wife.

St. Louis actress Zoe Vonder Harr returns to STAGES to co-star as Louise Seger. Vonder Harr has performed in over sixty productions at STAGES including: Hello, Dolly!, Gypsy, Mame andA Chorus Line. Other credits include the 1st international Touring Company of A Chorus Line and numerous productions at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Muny.

Standby for Patsy Cline and Louise Seger is Sophie Grimm. Grimm is a singer with Great Life Music's Matt Reed Band. She has previously performed at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, and The Music Theatre Company.

Always...Patsy Cline features a live six person band; Lisa Campbell Albert (Piano), John Higgins (Pedal Steel Guitar/Acoustic Guitar), Jon Ferber (Electric Guitar/Acoustic Guitar),Kevin Buckley (Fiddle), Vince Corkery (Bass), and Don Drewett (Drums).

Direction and musical staging are by STAGES ST. LOUIS Artistic Director Michael Hamilton with musical direction by Lisa Campbell Albert. Completing the creative team are Scenic Designer James Wolk, Costume Designer Lou Bird and Lighting Designer Matthew McCarthy. Always... Patsy Cline Production Sponsors include Judy and Jerry Kent andMargaret and Wayne Smith.

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