The Steel Guitar Forum

Just finished a 3 week run of the.. "Always Patsy Cline" show, had 12 performances,, It was a real treat had a great time

I'm glad you got the opportunity to perform in this show, Mark! I know it was exciting. I hope it opens some doors for you.

Pretty cold up there in the winter for a South Texas boy, Aint it?
I hope you find a group. They would do well to hire you.
Good picker, with a good attitude.

Mark,
What were the charts like while doing the show? Chord charts? Or pretty much just doing Patsy Cline songs in a country band? I was asked to play for one of those shows and I'm just curious about the charts.
Thanks,
Dan

My wife and I got a chance to see the Cline show with Mark on steel. Perfect performance, you could laugh, cry, and be amazed all at the same time. Patsy was the real deal.
Mark and the band were great. Good steel and lots of it, up in the mix.

Danny Sherbon wrote:I was asked to play for one of those shows and I'm just curious about the charts.
Thanks, Dan

Fwiw, this is an example of the score from one of the several 'Patsy' musicals.
I've heard of 'local' or 'community' theatres having somewhat of a 'free-for-all'
approach to arranging the music, but a professionally done production will have
a score from the licensing company and each instruments part will have been
extracted into a separate book for each musician.
~Rw

Thanks for the info. Looks very doable.
Dan

This show is a must for breaking into musical theatre. I've done this over 100 time since 2003. It is essential for learning how to play quiet and reading charts. My first run was with a professional cast and Music Director. We ran through the tunes a couple of times rehearsed once before a dress rehearsal and opened the show 2 days later! I did, however, have the book 2 months in advance. a great help of course. Having done the show a few runs, I ended up being the Musical Director in another local theatre with all non-professional cast and that took some time to get together. Lots of capo moving and at the last minute they found a piano lady who could read and that saved the day. It was worth it. we eventually got married

Mark- I echo all that has been said. APC is a "can't fail" show, in that is so well written. I have performed the show 60 times in 18 different venues throughout Texas. As mentioned, it opened a new thing for me: playing a theater. Being a dance band player for years, it helped in many ways. As far charts, music and so forth: things were really good in that we had some players who really read the score. Initially, we had a piano player who could read like crazy.. everyone else including our violin player was a number player like me..we then got a violinist, who carted in a $25,000 violin made in Italy, who read the score and played it perfectly, all musical things for the play exploded! Wish well on your journey.. A bass buddy of mine once told me: if a kid tells you he wants to play country music.. tell him to start with some Patsy Cline records! Glad you played the show. All the best

I have done over thirty different productions of 'Always....'. How many performances? I have lost count! Doing this show as well as thirteen seasons of the Medora Musical has been the bedrock of my income for the twenty years I have lived in America.

I've just heard that I'm doing it yet again - a short run in Key West in February. That'll be fun as the artistic director for the theatre, Joy Hawkins, played 'Louise' on the very first 'Patsy' I did - in Roanoke, VA in 1998.

Good for you Roger and what a nice place to be after months in ND. Lewisburgs Greenbrier Valley Theater is due another Country music biopic. The last Patsy was 2012 followed 2 years later by "Stand By Your Man..." I think the Tammy's are hard to find in pro theater not mention George Jones. Patsy is easier to do cast wise.[/b]

I agree, Don.

I was involved in the first production of 'Stand By Your Man' in rehearsal at the Flat Rock Playhouse in NC back in 2001. I couldn't do the actual run but wish I had! Brad Albin (!!!) was the bass player and Jim Lauderdale was a very creditable 'George Jones' but guys like that are hard to find.

'Patsy' seems easier to cast but I must say that I enjoy Jackie Petroccia's take on the role.

I don't yet know who our 'Patsy' will be in Key West but I have every confidence in Joy Hawkins' casting.

I will indeed be glad to leave the dust and aridity of North Dakota behind me next Sunday. Only six days left and I can go home!!! I hope the dog doesn't bite me.

Never done the show, wish I did. I got a call to do it not long ago, I returned the call and the seat was already filled .

But, the show was scheduled to go 8 or 10 weeks and got cancelled after 2 or 3 weeks due to lack of attendance. The player that was on the show called me and was really upset, he had to give up more than a dozen gigs to commit to the show ! He ended up with "nothing" !

Oh well, I would still do it if I get the call.

But, the show was scheduled to go 8 or 10 weeks and got cancelled after 2 or 3 weeks due to lack of attendance. The player that was on the show called me and was really upset, he had to give up more than a dozen gigs to commit to the show ! He ended up with "nothing" !

No contract on a gig like this?

I've really enjoyed the various runs of "Always Patsy" I've been on. It's complex enough and has some cool medleys that keep things musically interesting. Unlike some of the other "country" shows, the original score was written with a real understanding of pedal steel functionality and the parts are classic.

I've always thought I had more fun enjoying the backstage/dressing room hijinks and camaraderie than the performances! There are some real characters in theatre around here.

Barry Blackwood wrote:

But, the show was scheduled to go 8 or 10 weeks and got cancelled after 2 or 3 weeks due to lack of attendance. The player that was on the show called me and was really upset, he had to give up more than a dozen gigs to commit to the show ! He ended up with "nothing" !

No contract on a gig like this?

If it was a community theater gig, they are on a shoestring budget. An 8 to 10 week projected run is very optimistic, even for a quality show like this one.

OK, then these gigs are taken tuorum periculo. Too bad somebody's word isn't still their bond..

The other side of that is, who wants to play to an empty house in a small town for 8 weeks?

Most players and actors know the risk they run in that circumstance. If there is a contract, it will probably stipulate an attendance rider. Without an agent or personal management, you are screwed. In whatever language...

"But, the show was scheduled to go 8 or 10 weeks and got cancelled after 2 or 3 weeks due to lack of attendance. The player that was on the show called me and was really upset, he had to give up more than a dozen gigs to commit to the show ! He ended up with "nothing" !"

Sorry for that player, but he went in with his eyes wide open.

Well... I did say most players
It was a hard lesson for that guy but I'm sure he will be squinting the next time such an offer comes up.

Ran into a friend of mine the other night who is MD'ing "Always, Patsy Cline" in the Albany, NY area in October. If anyone is interested in the gig feel free to write me and I can put you in touch. I think it's thurs through sunday with a matinee for 2 weeks (10 shows).

An 8 to 10 week licensing of the APC would be quite pricey. I would assume it was paid for the first 2 weeks and, had it continued there would be a re-negotiation. Hope you still can find the opportunity to be part of this show someday,Tony. Is there any professional theatre in your neck of the woods?