Educators pay tribute to country music legend
The Harlem High faculty will present a tribute to legendary country music singer Patsy Cline with the production of Always - Patsy Cline.
The play will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Harlem High School.
The school, in agreement with The Kovats Co., will present the play based on the true story of Cline's friendship with housewife Louise Seger. The story is told by Seger's, who having first heard Cline on the Arthur Godfrey Show in 1957, became an avid fan of Cline's. The play focuses on the when Seger hears of Cline's death at Houston's Esquire Ballroom.
Seger, who will be portrayed by Joyce Cheek, supplies a narrative, while Cline, portrayed by Julianna Boatwright, floats in and out of the set singing the tunes that made her famous such as Anytime, Walkin' After Midnight, Sweet Dreams and Crazy.
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"The show combines humor, sadness and reality," Harlem High drama instructor Roy Lewis said. "It offers fans who remember Cline when she was alive a chance to look back, while giving new fans an idea of what this great singer meant to her original fans."
Julianna Boatwright (front left) plays the part of Patsy Cline and Joyce Cheek plays Clines friend Louise Seger in the Harlem High faculty production, Always - Patsy Cline.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
The off-Broadway play was written and originally directed by Ted Swindley. Phillip Streetman orchestrates the musical direction. Band members include Harlem teachers Carroll Morris, David Thibodeau, Columbia County Technical Specialist Bill Tankersley and community volunteer Buddy Womack on steel guitar.
The student-produced play is sponsored by the Harlem Drama Boosters Association in an effort to raise money for scholarships that will be awarded at the end of the year.
Tickets are $8. Call 556-5980 for reservations.