Fauquier Community Theatre’s Always…Patsy Cline opens Sept. 2

The friendship that developed between Patsy Cline and Louise Seger eventually led to the musical play known as Always…Patsy Cline.

Don Richardson, who is producing this enticing down home country drama for Fauquier Community Theatre with shows the first two weekends in September, noted, “The show is based on a true story about Cline’s friendship with a fan from Houston named Louise Seger, who actually befriended the star in a Texas honky-tonk in 1961, and continued a correspondence with her until her death.”

Katy Benko, of Broad Run, who will portray Patsy Cline, is also responsible for making this timeless musical production a reality for local audiences.

“Patsy Cline,” Benko explained, has been one of my musical idols since I was 13. I still remember hearing “Crazy” for the first time. I remember thinking that not only was her voice phenomenal but her ability to show emotion through her voice is what hooked me. When I learned of her tragic story, I became more attached to her and her music.“

She went on to explain, “I’ve actually known about the show Always…Patsy Cline for a while now, and it was a dream of mine to play the role of Patsy in the show. After I moved to Fauquier County in 2012, I became involved in FCT and came to know the wonderful people associated with the theater. I then saw an opportunity to actually stage Always…Patsy Cline.

“ I asked my incredibly talented friend, Ivy Elizabeth, to play Louise and my super talented friend, Ken Wayne, to direct the show.

“We proposed it to the FCT Board and they loved it. We started right then and there to run with it.

“For me Always…Patsy Cline is a tribute to the legendary singer who died at 30 in a plane crash in 1963. The show is based on Cline’s friendship with her Houston fan, Louise Seger.”

“In the actual play,” Benko said, “ Seger floats in and out of the story she is telling so that sometimes she is part of a memory. but mostly she is narrating the story to the audience. It is a fun, sometimes interacting with the audience and is also very moving.”

Benko easily admits that her two greatest musical influences were Patsy Cline and Elvis Presley.

“My ultimate goal growing up was to become a famous country singer. I have performed with and opened for some of country music’s top stars and was at one point rising on the national scene.”

Addressing her musical preparation she cited, “I started studying with the graduate professor of vocal performance at George Mason University. I am classically trained and can sing opera, but my heart is in more contemporary styles of music.”

Benko can claim remarkable accolades from past performances.

She stated, “I have performed as an opening act for stars which include Brad Paisley, Kenny Rogers, Brooks and Dunn and Alan Jackson.”
Unfortunately, Benko’s rise to stardom came to an abrupt halt when she was involved in a serious automobile accident.

“The driver of the other car,” she pointed out, “lost control of their vehicle and hit mine head on, leaving me with a concussion, a neck injury, and soft tissue damage in my inner ear and Eustachian tube.”

“Basically I was unable to hear adequately on stage. I cancelled all my performances after that and stopped the distribution of an album called Float..”

Benko is a grateful and talented survivor. “I had started teaching voice lessons before the accident, so when I stopped performing, I poured myself into the teaching of students. It allowed me to still feel validity as a singer and I get great joy seeing my students grow and improve. My current goals are to continue running my vocal studio and continue performing. That is what I was born to do.”

“My dad jokes that since none of my family had any musical talent, I must have received multiple generations worth of talent that had been saved up just for me.

“I have many blessings in my life to be grateful for. I have been married to my husband, Ryan, for 10 years. We have three children-a daughter, Presley, 6, and our boy/girl twins Bradley and Kassidy who will be four in November.”

This noteworthy musical production not only serves as a special valentine to Patsy Cline; but the audience is treated to an incredible songfest of 27 of Cline’s songs which include unforgettable hits such as I Fall to Pieces and Walking After Midnight.
 
Fauquier Community Theatre is located at 4225 Aiken Drive in Warrenton and can be reached at 540-349-8760. More information can be found at http://www.fctstage.org.

Ticket prices: Adults $16 and Seniors/Students $14. Dates: Sept. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11. Friday and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Sundays at 2 p.m.