Patsy Cline Play to Christen New Stage

BRADENTON -- Always ... Patsy Cline, a play about the special friendship between a country starlet and a Houston housewife, will be the first full theatrical production in the new Manatee Players’ Kiwanis Studio Theater stage, an intimate space at the Manatee Performing Arts Center on downtown Bradenton's RiverWalk. The show, which  stars Alana Opie as the iconic country & western songstress, opens on September 19 and runs through October 6.

Performances are scheduled Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $26 including facility fee for adults, $15 including facility fee for teachers and $13 including facility fee for students.

Always ... Patsy Cline is based on the true story of Patsy Cline's friendship with Houston housewife Louise Seger (Brittney Klepper). Having first heard Cline on the "Arthur Godfrey Show" in 1957, Seger became an immediate and avid fan of Cline's and she constantly hounded the local radio station to play her songs.

When Cline played Houston, Seger and her friends arrived early and, by coincidence, met Cline who was traveling alone. The two women struck up a friendship that was to culminate in Cline spending the night at Seger's house, a friendship that lasted until Cline's untimely death in a plane crash in 1963.

The show is being directed by Preston Boyd with Seth Wertz as musical director. Tickets may be reserved by calling 941-748-5875 Monday – Friday from 9-5 and one hour before curtain on performance days or on the Manatee Players’ website: www.manateeplayers.com. All performances are at the Manatee Performing Arts Center at 502 3rd Avenue West in downtown Bradenton.