Always Patsy Cline
2011 Annual Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival week punctuated with musical!
Attendees of the 15th annual Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival, Nov. 8-13, on North Carolina's Outer Banks can take advantage of an added special treat this year.
After the regular programming of birding, paddling, natural history and photography programs end on Sunday, Nov. 13, there is still reason to spend one more night on the Outer Banks.
The hit musical, Always...Patsy Cline, will light up the stage at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13, at the Cape Hatteras Secondary School in Buxton. Special invited guests will be the island's volunteer fire chiefs and firemen who went above and beyond all expectations during and after the recent hurricane. This performance is free and open to the public.
The two-act musical stars Laura Martier as the legendary Patsy Cline and Barbara Hird as her friend Louise Seger includes many of the songs that Cline made famous.
Based on a true story, the play explores Cline's pen-pal friendship with Seger who became an immediate fan after hearing the country singer on the Arthur Godfrey Show in 1957. Seger then hounded the local disk jockey to play Cline’s records on the radio. The two later met in Houston and they instantly formed a friendship that lasted until Cline’s death in 1963.
Laura Martier relocated from Wisconsin to North Carolina where she is the reigning jazz vocalist on the Outer Banks. She has released several CDs and toured internationally. Martier also is executive director of Dare County Arts Council whose mission is not only to promote the arts, but also to educate. As an educator, she has served as adjunct professor of voice at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Always seeking to add new experiences and material to her repertoire, Always...Patsy Cline is Martier’s first foray into the world of professional theatre as an actor.
Barbara Hird, a native of Yorkshire, England, studied and performed at the prestigious Bradford Playhouse and Film Theatre. Before coming to the United States, she toured the English Regional Theatre circuit in plays ranging from Shakespeare to modern musicals. In North Carolina, she has worked with numerous theatres including the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Charlotte Rep. and The Lost Colony. Her work in Elizabeth R – performed in London, Edinburgh, Regional England, New York City and more than 30 locations in the mid-Atlantic states - has brought her international acclaim and North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Her new role in Always…Patsy Cline as Louise Seger is sure to be another hit. Hird is also the costume designer for The Diary of Adam and Eve and Always…Patsy Cline.
In September, Martier and Hird debuted in Always...Patsy Cline as the opening performance for the new season of the Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts. Both received excellent reviews from audiences.
Written and originally directed by Ted Swindley and produced with permission of Ted Swindley Productions, Inc. and APC, Inc. the production of Always...Patsy Cline is produced by Elizabeth R and Company and directed by lebame houston.
