Stage Review - Always...Patsy Cline (Taproot Theatre)

Stage Review - Always...Patsy Cline
Presented By: Taproot Theatre - Seattle, WA
Show Run: May 14 - June 14, 2025
Date Reviewed: Friday, May 16, 2025 (Opening Night)
Run Time: 1 Hour, 45 Minutes (including a 15-minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

I’m going to admit right here that I am an unapologetic fan of country music. Now, when I say country music, I’m not talking about the modern “Bro-Country” that is so prevalent today, though I don’t want to disparage any music, and there is some good going on in country radio these days, but no, what I am referring to is the music I listened to growing up, from Johnny Cash, back through Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, Loretta Lynn, The Carter Family, and Roy Acuff, just to name a few. I spent more than a few vacations in Nashville and at the Grand Ole Opry, and while this is the music that filled my childhood home back in Pennsylvania, one artist that wasn’t played all that much was Patsy Cline. I never knew why that was, though through the years, I developed some ideas. Perhaps she wasn’t “country enough” for my parents, meaning she didn’t have that familiar twang that someone like Loretta Lynn had, or perhaps her songs weren’t her own, Country Music seemingly has always been split into two factions, the singer-songwriter, and the voice singing contract songwriters’ work. Or, maybe it was just that her career was so tragically short. It could have been that she was one of the first country artists to successfully cross over into pop music, which makes sense when you think about the contingent of country music fans that considered Taylor Swift a “traitor” for distancing herself from the genre. In any case, it wasn’t until later in my life when I started to really appreciate Patsy Cline, her power, her soulful, bluesy voice, and the smoothness in which she delivered her songs. It’s one of those things, like discovering Bruce Springsteen late in life, that makes me regret the time missed with her music, but thanks to shows like Always…Patsy Cline, we can be reminded of the kind of talent that was lost at such a young age. Always…Patsy Cline is currently running on stage at Taproot Theatre’s Jewell Mainstage, and features Cayman Ilika as Patsy in a production directed by Karen Lund and featuring all of her biggest hits, and then some, in what amounts to a jukebox musical that sheds some light on a side of Patsy Cline that we haven’t seen before, presented through a fan’s personal history with the legendary singer.

I never knew much about Patsy Cline as a person, other than what I was able to glean through the years in movies, but what this musical aims to do, through a chronology of her relationship with Louise Segar, first as fan to artist, then as friends until Patsy’s passing, is show the artist as a kind and caring person, who never forgets a favor and is first in line to help someone else out, despite what she may be going through herself. What’s more, it’s not a fictional portrayal. First off, the musical is based on a real life relationship, but every story I’ve read about her in following-up on the musical in advance of writing this reaffirms what the story presents, that Patsy Cline was a good-hearted human being, who led a life that was hard, but one that she never used as an excuse. Louise is portrayed by Kate Jaeger in this production, and she is generally the narrator of the story, beginning when she first sees the singer on TV, then following her to the radio, and then to the moment everything changes for Louise, when Patsy Cline comes to her town to perform. Arriving early to the hall, a chance meeting follows and a friendship develops that lasts until the day Patsy Cline is killed in a plane crash. There’s more to the story than that, of course, and Louise tells it so much better than I ever could. Kate in this role is good, she’s funny and extremely likable, and she interacts with Cayman incredibly well. Frankly, this cast of two sure seems like they’re having a blast on stage. With credit to dialect coach Alyssa Keene, Kate’s accent as Louise never falters, just as Cayman’s as Patsy doesn’t, and her personality is just infectious. Sure, she smokes, and she drinks, and she drinks some more, and maybe a little more, but everything she does, and just about everything she says is almost entertaining enough for the audience to take their eyes off of Cayman when she sings…..almost. Kate can also sing, though she doesn’t have the opportunity too much, just the odd chance when Patsy calls her “new manager Louise” on stage, but when she does get the chance, Kate shows that she’s no slouch, and the harmonies she executes with Cayman are quite nice.

As far as Cayman’s performance, well it is Always…Patsy Cline, so how good this show is depends just about entirely on how much she personifies the singer here. I mentioned the soul that Patsy sang with, that bluesy quality to her voice, and the power, and Cayman is able to match all of these, and with what seems like little effort. For as much as she gives, there seems to be more that she could have, but what she does give is just the right amount. And Patsy’s range, which skewed to the lower end of the register, feels custom made for Cayman’s voice. But, out of all of those qualities, and they are indeed excellent qualities, there’s one that makes this performance for me, one that puts Cayman among the elite singers on stage in the region, and that is in the emotion she pours into her vocals. The country music I remember, and the country music that Patsy Cline was part of, is characterized by the ability of a singer to pour their heart and soul into a song. One just has to listen to George Jones sing about anything to understand what I’m referring to. This emotional investment by the singer into his or her song is what made, and still makes in some cases today, audiences relate to this style of music, it makes the listener feel that these performers, as famous as they are, go through the same things we all do. Cayman’s ability to recreate this in her portrayal of Patsy Cline is what I like best about her work here, it makes her enthralling to watch, and add to that the manner in which she performs to the audience, singing to them, not through them, making eye contact with every person in the theatre, making everyone believe with all of their heart that she is singing directly to them. There are times, honestly, when I would close my eyes on opening night, and other than the audio quality, which is much better now (clearly), I could hardly discern between Cayman and Patsy as these songs were performed, though with one exception, and yes, I’m getting nit-picky here. In the classic “I Fall to Pieces”, when Patsy sings that, she pronounces pieces “pee-suhz“, but here Cayman pronounces it “pee-siz“. As I said, that’s such a minor thing, but if you’re drawn into the rest of the performance that is so extraordinary, and can hear Patsy’s voice in Cayman, that one word does jump out. Outside of the singing, too, she manages the transformation of Patsy from her pre-stardom days to when she’s just about at the height of her career, and from everything I’ve come to learn about the singer’s personality, this is just one more aspect that Cayman is in full control of.

Cayman isn’t alone on stage, though, she’s accompanied by a tremendous band under the leadership of Evan Barrett. It’s a 5-piece band (Evan on piano, Ethan Sabatta on bass, Em Westman on Drums, Sam Vance on Electric Guitar, and Country Dave Harmonson on Pedal Steel), that brings about a wave of nostalgia for anyone who has spent time in a honky tonk or country music bar, or has attended a performance at the Opry. Adding to that, Mark Lund’s set design harkens back to a smaller version of the Opry stage, with its wooden floor and proscenium, but he’s also built into the thrust design Louise’s home, providing two distinct areas of the stage that flow together very well, as the story moves from performance space to home. Each prop is time appropriate, and important, including the microphone that Cayman uses. The Unidyne-style microphone on a stand is like a dancing partner, providing Cayman with another tool with which to express the emotion of her music, and at the same time giving the show yet another level of authenticity.

The final piece of the design that works so well here is the costumes, specifically Cayman’s as Patsy, that are based on designs by Brynne McKeen. From the first, a red western dress complete with sewn-on wagon wheels and music notes, with matching boots and fringe, to the casual dress that she wears at Louise’s home, and to her black sequined dress. Best of all, though, is her icy blue chiffon cocktail dress, with just a subtle touch of sparkle through the creative use of sequins. It’s a beautiful dress, accessorized with a pearl necklace and silver sequined shoes. Each costume is exquisite, and frankly I think I lost count on opening night at seven costume changes. I feel as though the production, its design elements and theme, are a frame meant to center the focus of the audience on Cayman and her performance as Patsy Cline, a frame that is nostalgic and a bit weathered in its look, but it all helps to make the object within its borders unforgettable.

Always…Patsy Cline, the latest offering from Taproot Theatre, is a nostalgic look at the personality and talent of one of the instrumental female voices of the 20th century. Directed by Karen Lund, this production provides audiences with a rarely seen side of the legendary singer, as told through her relationship with a fan turned friend that began with a chance meeting before a performance one night. Cayman Ilika is Patsy Cline here, and what she’s able to do in representing both the personality and talent of a woman that left us too soon in a tragic plane crash, is sheer magnificence. Cayman presents Patsy Cline’s songs with a powerful and bluesy delivery, and she pours out her soul into the emotional interpretation of these familiar songs, resulting in one of the best musical performances of the season and one unforgettable production.

Always…Patsy Cline runs on the Taproot Theatre Jewell Mainstage in Seattle through June 14. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.taproottheatre.org/.

Photo credit: Robert Wade