Gail Bliss has begun her official final year starring in “A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline.” Bliss has been playing Patsy Cline for more than 30 years. Featuring more than 20 of Cline’s most beloved songs, “A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline” will run at the Alhambra Theatre through Feb. 5.
“A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline” traces the late star's footsteps from her early honky-tonk days and radio fame through her rise at the Grand Ole Opry followed by her triumphs at Carnegie Hall and in Las Vegas.
Written and conceived by Dean Regan in 1991, the musical reveals the emotional depth and range of a singer who defined the term "crossover hit" by dominating country, blues, pop and gospel charts simultaneously in the 1950s and early ’60s.
In the early 1960s, Cline's life began settling down — just as her career began to pick up. Two children, a dream home and a stack of hit records were finally hers, but she would not be able to enjoy them long. Patsy Cline died in an airplane crash March 5, 1963, while hurrying back to her family after a benefit concert in Kansas City.
Cline's enduring musical legacy is witnessed by the fact that she is the number one jukebox play in the world. Her greatest hits album has sold more than 9 million copies and has been in first place for more than 200 weeks of her 700 weeks on Billboard's "Top Country Catalog Albums."
A show that appeals to all ages, “A Closer Walk” provides a blend of theater and music into a magical evening.
Twenty of Cline's best-known songs, played by a live band, make this show a treat for the young and old alike. The songs are performed in their entirety with arrangements, back-up vocals and a band structure all providing an accurate re-creation of the Patsy Cline sound. A full band accompanies Bliss. All accomplished musicians in their own right, members of the “Closer Walk” band have played with recording artists such as Leon Russell, Willie Nelson and Travis Tritt and have won several music industry awards.
“A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline” runs through Feb. 5. The Alhambra Theatre & Dining is located at 12000 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville. Tickets start at $45 and include a three-course meal that changes for each show, a Broadway-style performance and complimentary parking.
Tickets can be purchased online at alhambrajax.com or by calling 904-641-1212.
