NEWS RELEASE
For More Information Please Contact:
Eric Pugh
epugh@stagesstlouis.org
636.530.5959 ext. 616
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STAGES ST. LOUIS SELLS OUT RUN OF ALWAYS… PATSY CLINE
(ST. LOUIS) – STAGES ST. LOUIS has SOLD OUT the run of Always… Patsy Cline scheduled to run through
June 30. The unprecedented patron demand and unanimous rave reviews, resulted in two added performances on
Sunday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m. both selling out at a record pace. Always… Patsy
Cline had the largest advance of any production in the history of STAGES’ 27 years and SOLD OUT its run less
than a week after the official opening of Wednesday, June 5, 2013. The production has broken all box office
records. Nightly, the audience is stopping the show with thunderous applause with numbers like “Crazy,”
“Lovesick Blues,” and “Your Cheating Heart.”
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.
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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 and A 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 and Margaret and Wayne Smith.
Ted Swindley (Author and Original Director) has directed and/or produced over 200 plays for over 20 years. Some
of his outstanding directorial credits include world premieres, classics and musicals including, CARNAL
KNOWLEDGE, PACIFIC OVERTURES, FOLLIES and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, along with rotating
repertory projects such as Havel’s THE MEMORANDUM with Giradoux’s THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT,
Thornton Wilder’s OUR TOWN and LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES with THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING
EARNEST. Ted was named to Esquire magazine’s register of Americans for Outstanding Achievement in Arts and
Letters, and was featured in Southern Living Magazine. In 2007 he was a keynote speaker at the Southwestern
Theatre Conference. He was also the recipient of the Los Angeles Dramalogue Award for outstanding direction and
nominated for the Los Angeles Critics Award for his work at the Pasadena Playhouse. He is the Founding Artistic
Director of Stages Repertory Theatre, the second largest theatre in Houston, Texas. There he implemented such
diverse programming as the Texas Playwrights Festival, for which he won national recognition in 1986 from the
Wall Street Journal and Backstage Magazine. Best known for creating the hit musical, ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE,
which was one of the top ten shows produced across the country in 1998, he has also directed in over 60 theatres.
THE HONKY TONK ANGELS is his latest hit, and he has completed the trilogy with THE HONKY TONK
ANGELS HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR, and BUBBA’S REVENGE, (which can all be done independently of each
other). He has just recently premiered his latest work, BACHELOR PAD in New York City, and completed a
Southern adaption of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, entitled THE IMPORTANCE OF BEIN’
EARNEST, and a play, STORIES MY GRANDMOTHER TOLD ME, which had its premiere in Kansas City, MO,
January 2008. He is an active member of the Dramatists Guild and The Society of Stage Directors and
Choreographers, and is a member of the Playwrights/Directors Workshop at the famed Actors Studio in New York
City.
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Complete biographical information is listed on STAGES’ website at www.stagesstlouis.org
Single ticket prices range from $20 - $55. STAGES performs in the intimate, 384-seat Robert G. Reim Theatre at
Kirkwood Civic Center, 111 South Geyer Road in St. Louis, MO. For more information or to purchase tickets call
314-821-2407 or visit www.stagesstlouis.org.
-More-
STAGES ST. LOUIS is committed to preserving and advancing the art form of Musical Theatre through excellence
in performance and education. In 2013, STAGES will present its 27th season of Broadway-quality theatre to nearly
50,000 patrons. STAGES ST. LOUIS is grateful for the support of the Regional Arts Commission, and has been
funded in part by the Arts & Education Council. In addition, financial assistance for this project has been provided
by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. STAGES ST. LOUIS would like to recognize the official media
partners for the 2013 Season: St. Louis Post Dispatch, Clear Channel Communications, CBS Radio, and KSDK
News Channel 5.
STAGES ST. LOUIS would like to extend sincere thanks to the sponsors of our 27th Anniversary Season whose
significant contributions enable us to produce Broadway-quality shows. The 2013 Season corporate sponsors
include Edward Jones, Emerson, Lindell Bank, and Edward Chase Garvey Memorial Foundation. Generous
support was also provided by individual Production Sponsors Marion and Van Black, Margaret and Wayne Smith,
Lynne and Jim Turley, Judy and Jerry Kent, Susan M. Hale and Merry and Jim Mosbacher.
New York Casting is done by Gayle Seay and Scott Wojcik of Wojcik/Seay Casting.
Interviews are available with the cast and/or director based on availability.
Production photos are available upon request.
Always… Patsy Cline
Robert G. Reim Theatre
Production Sponsors:
Judy & Jerry Kent and Margaret & Wayne Smith
Remaining Performance Schedule - Through June 30, 2013
SOLD OUT Friday
SOLD OUT Saturday
SOLD OUT Sunday
June 14
June 15
June 16
8:00 PM
4:00 PM & 8:00 PM
2:00 PM & 7:30 PM* ADDED PERFORMANCE
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
June 18
June 19
June 20
June 21
June 22
June 23
8:00 PM
2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
8:00 PM
8:00 PM
4:00 PM & 8:00 PM
2:00 PM & 7:30 PM* ADDED PERFORMANCE
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
June 25
June 26
June 27
June 28
June 29
June 30
8:00 PM
2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
8:00 PM
8:00 PM
4:00 PM & 8:00 PM
2:00 PM & 7:30 PM
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