LPO Rep theater celebrates country music with Always… Patsy Cline

Tim Bangle named new artistic director

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

In a daring celebration of the country music legend, Lake Pend Oreille Repertory Theater will stage three showings of a rare, two-woman musical, Always… Patsy Cline, at The Hive (207 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint). The music-heavy performances will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 22 and Saturday, Aug. 23, and conclude with a matinee on Sunday, Aug. 24, at 2 p.m.

“It’s a story of Patsy’s career told through the eyes of Louise [Seger], her friend. It’s the first time that Louise heard her voice, and then through various interactions up until Patsy’s death,” said incoming LPO Rep Artistic Director Tim Bangle.

Sandpoint stars Holly Beaman and Kate McAlister play Cline and Seger, respectively, acting out the highs and lows of Cline’s personal and professional life. The women’s close relationship is the thread that ties together Cline’s journey, from honky-tonk stages to national fame, until her untimely death in a plane crash at the age of 30.

“There are different motifs of music throughout the show. It goes from Patsy’s early career stuff, before she knew Louise, and then there’s a sequence of love songs from around the time she got married,” said Bangle. “Then it goes into lovesick stuff when she’s having issues with relationships and missing her kid, and then to her death, and the songs that were right before that. You see the arc of Patsy’s life through the music.”

The show’s live band highlights Beaman’s voice as she sings through upward of 25 songs, but what makes the show special is the stage presence and rapport between the two women. Sandpoint’s many country lovers may come for the music, but they’ll stay for the honest portrayal of female friendship.

“It’s a great show. There’s a lot of comedy, a lot of great music — hopefully we’ll get some people to cry. There’s a lot of audience interaction, as well,” said Bangle.

Get tickets at livefromthehive.com for $30, $40 or $70 dollars, depending on seating.

Though not new to Sandpoint’s arts scene, Bangle has only just taken on the mantle of artistic director from LPO Rep founder Keely Grey, who recently moved. The local film writer, director and editor of The Other Dog Films intends to keep up Grey’s commitment to high-quality performances while increasing the nonprofit’s community outreach. He also plans to incorporate his film background into LPO Rep’s future educational outreach, lending a cinematic approach to the stage.

“We’re restructuring a lot of our community efforts. We kicked off an improv group here just recently — we did a free first launch at the Little Panida with Cory Repass and Alexis Senn,” said Bangle. “We’re also looking to do some things with Lost in the ’50s and other events around Sandpoint, weaving our way into community stuff like the Renaissance Faire. We’re just trying to get our actors out doing more with the public because, as a nonprofit, we want to contribute to the community.”

Visit lporep.com to learn more or get involved on or behind the stage at upcoming productions.

Bangle gave special thanks to the dedicated volunteers working on Always… Patsy Cline, including Michael Bigley, Nikki Luttmann, Beaman and McAlister.

“We’re also all grateful to Keely. This is her company that she put together with Andrew [Sorg] and Kate [McAlister] back in the day, and we’re grateful for the foundation that she’s built,” said Bangle. “We’re just trying to continue that on and hopefully do it justice.”